Rosalie Crawford of Webhealth www.webhealth.co.nz

Recently a mother trying to make an appointment to have her child's condition assessed discovered there was a waiting list, so she set out to find what other top quality services were available in the Western Bay of Plenty.

As she discovered, we have national organisations such as Plunket, the largest providers of support services for the development, health and wellbeing of children under the age of five.

We also have the Well Child - Tamariki Ora Services. This is a free service provided by Te Manu Toroa, for families who may experience barriers to accessing health services. The service makes a significant contribution to our community, with the team providing scheduled checks for babies and children from birth to five years including immunisation, hearing and vision, dental assessment and nutrition and development checks.

The registered nursing and kaimahi service, health promotion, and Tauranga Early Years Service Hub provided by Te Manu Toroa work with families to ensure they are registered with a local GP. They also ensure families are able to access core early years services, and that children can have their development checked through a comprehensive integrated health care service.

The dental therapists have a clinic based in Papamoa as well as mobile units at various primary schools and hauora throughout the Western Bay of Plenty. Families are encouraged to enrol children with a dental therapist by the age of two, at no charge.

Health education and promotion, as well as clinical assessment, are impact aspects of this service, with the Tamariki Ora team providing resources and information, and running community workshops on child nutrition, physical activity, injury prevention, child development and positive parenting skills.

Top quality early childhood services that provide comprehensive and integrated health care ensure our children get off to a healthy start in life, and we're fortunate to have these services based in the Western Bay of Plenty.

For self-referrals to the team phone Wiki, 08 577 4186. Te Manu Toroa and the Tauranga Early Years Service Hub can be found on Webhealth.

For more information go to www.webhealth.co.nz – your link to wellbeing.

Rosalie Crawford is a medical scientist and lecturer who works for Webhealth Linkage Trust. Email: Rosalie@webhealth.co.nz Website: www.webhealth.co.nz , phone 0800 WEBHEALTH, Skype: Guavablue, Twitter: WebhealthBOP