Recognition follows three years of growth for WBOPPHO’s free service, with visits up 80% and most people seen within a week.

BeingWell, the free mental health and wellbeing service available through general practice across the Bay of Plenty, has been recognised as one of the country’s top two mental health programmes at the 2026 New Zealand Primary Healthcare Awards | He Tohu Mauri Ora. Led by Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation (WBOPPHO), the service was shortlisted alongside Tāmaki Health Services’ Wellness Support, which won the award in Auckland on Saturday 17 October.

“Being one of two finalists for the country’s Best Mental Health Programme is a huge achievement, and a proud moment for everyone who has helped build BeingWell,” says Sarah Stevenson, WBOPPHO Chief Executive.

WBOPPHO’s own approach to the national primary mental health and addiction programme, BeingWell brings Health Improvement Practitioners and Health Coaches together with social work and counselling support in a single service. It provides timely, accessible and equitable support for tāngata whaiora and whānau whose wellbeing needs extend beyond what general practice can provide alone, while supporting them to receive the right care, at the right time, within their communities.

Stevenson says BeingWell stands out because it was co-designed with the people who use it and is coordinated locally. “It’s flexible in how people are seen, and offers support from different professionals working together as one team,” she adds. “Above all, we’re right there in the general practice whānau already know. A doctor or nurse can often introduce someone the same day, and we become part of their care, alongside those who know them best.”

Growth and impact

Since work began in 2023 to improve the service’s reach in the region, the number of people using it has grown by 38% and visits by 80%. In 2025, 8,820 people used BeingWell across 34 general practices from Katikati to Whakatāne, and more than 83% were seen within one week, many on the same day. Māori made up 19.6% of people using BeingWell in 2025, above their 16% share of enrolments at participating practices. More than 210,000 people have access to the programme in the region.

Kiri Peita, General Manager Hauora Māori, Equity and Community Wellbeing, whose team now oversees BeingWell, says being named among the country’s best shows what is possible when a service is built with the people it serves. “If this recognition tells a story, it’s that when we partner with communities and lead with compassion, we create places where people feel safe to ask for help, and where hope can begin.”

For Stevenson, being named a finalist is a shared achievement. “Our service leads and their teams go to any lengths for tāngata whaiora, and our general practice teams, iwi partners and community providers have made BeingWell part of everyday care across our rohe. I believe it all comes down to connection: as a team, as an organisation, as a provider network and, ultimately, as part of the community we serve.”

The bravest people in this story

BeingWell’s growth is one measure of its success. Its real impact is in the lives that have changed, one person at a time.

A 9-year-old girl gave her obsessive-compulsive disorder a name, “Rhonda”, and within a month was challenging it herself. A young mother, wary of health services, brought her baby in for their first health check after her Health Coach stayed in gentle contact for six months. A tangata whaiora in acute distress was seen by the crisis team the same day, after a warm handover from their GP, and was then supported into safe, stable housing.

“The bravest people in this story are the tāngata whaiora and whānau who found the courage to reach out and ask for support. This recognition belongs to them,” Peita says. “BeingWell was co-designed alongside people with lived experience, and their voices have shaped and continuously shape the service every step of the way. We have the privilege of listening, learning, and walking alongside them.”

How to access

BeingWell offers free, confidential support with whatever is affecting your wellbeing, from stress and anxiety to everyday health and lifestyle goals. Ask your general practice or hauora provider team for an appointment with a Health Improvement Practitioner or Health Coach, or request one at wboppho.org.nz/beingwell. No referral is needed. You can be seen at your practice, in the community, by phone or online. If you’re not enrolled with a practice, you can get support through some community providers.