Counties Manukau’s recently formed medical bariatric service Te Mana ki Tua, for specialist weight management, has now been running for eight months, and the outcomes are being greeted with enthusiasm.
The initial results for patients have been very pleasing, with 42% achieving remission of type 2 diabetes at three months.
The service helps overweight patients who don’t qualify for bariatric surgery to achieve significant weight reduction using medically-supervised meal replacements plus intensive group-based support.
Te Mana ki Tua [meaning ‘The Power is Beyond’] has seen most patients report considerable health gains – some having lost around 25 kilos in weight.
Professor Rinki Murphy who heads up the service says the results so far are extremely pleasing and are an important part of achieving more equitable outcomes for patients living with obesity related medical conditions in South Auckland.
The service provides patients with funded low-calorie meal replacements, medication adjuncts, and support to lose weight by a multi-specialist team including health coaches, dietitians, health psychologists, endocrinologists and other kaimahi.
The programme is initially being offered to people referred, but ineligible for bariatric surgery.
The latest report on the successes at Te Mana ki Tua are part of a positive trend in achieving great results for patients across the board in Aotearoa - as outlined in the Health Status Report presented to a Select Committee this week, where both sides of the house asked Te Whatu Ora to highlight more great outcomes in our work.
Tomorrow we’ll post a video profile of Te Mana ki Tua, in which patients will tell their stories.