Matua Raki
National Addiction Treatment Workforce Development Programme (NATWDP)

At the outset, a Mäori name was sought. Takarangi Metekingi, Senior Mäori Advisor to the programme subsequently provided the name Matua Raki, meaning Passion, Commitment and Excellence. His explanation was that the field traditionally has been strong on its passion and commitment, now was the time to increase its excellence.

A major aspect of the workplan in the first 12 months was to develop a ten-year Strategic Plan to develop the workforce. This was undertaken in close consultation with the sector using a reference group and seeking input from consumers and other key people. Eight typical client scenarios informed by New Zealand research data were included in the plan to guide its recommendations for workforce development.

Two key recommendations from this strategic plan were as follows. It was seen as important to, firstly, attract more health professionals to the sector and, secondly, to increase the overall education level of all workers in the sector. A target was set of there being at least one third of the field possessing a relevant addiction based postgraduate qualification by 2015. A series of national telephone surveys of the workforce had previously shown an increase in this percentage from 3% in 1998 to 13% in 2004. A further survey is currently underway.

Although there is now a formal administrative separation between Matua Raki and the NAC, there remains a strong collegial relationship between the two units and NAC staff is continuing to be intimately involved in several key projects, namely: Nursing, Orientation, Annual One-Day Short Courses, Co-existing Disorders and the National Telephone Survey.

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