Welcome - Introducing the Co-Chairs for the Midland Addcitions Forums

 David Benton

Clinic Director of Hanmer Clinic Tauranga, which is an NGO providing outpatient alcohol and drug addiction treatment services

After training in the United States, he held positions as an Alcohol and Drug Counsellor for Founders Hall Outpatient Service in Vermont, USA, as well as a counsellor and tutor at Lyndon State College, part of the University of Vermont.  Returning to New Zealand, he was Programme Director for the Salvation Army Bridge Programme on Rotoroa Island, a well known Treatment Centre for Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

His next position was as Manager of the Auckland Methadone Service - the largest in New Zealand. Here he was responsible for initiating and setting in place the first training programme for GP’s prescribing Methadone.  Moving to Tauranga, he worked with the Community Alcohol and Drug Service for a year, and then began and co-ordinated the Lakes Methadone Programme in Taupo and Rotorua for ten years

He was a member of the Trust Board set up by the Goodfellow Unit, Auckland University, to oversee Training for Opioid Treatment by General Practitioners, and was the Northern Region Facilitator for that project for the seven years of its existence.  He was the founder and elected Chair of the National Association of Opioid Treatment Providers for ten years, and has served on the Organising Committee of the Cutting Edge Conference for the last eight years.

He has been a key note speaker at the Dual Diagnosis Seminar in Tauranga (2002), and at the Cutting Edge Conference (2003), and has presented papers at International Methadone Conferences in New York and San Francisco, the New Zealand Association of Counsellors Conference, and the Cutting Edge Conferences in Wellington (1998), Rotorua (2000), and Napier (2001), and Palmerston North (2004), and Auckland (2007).

He has been involved in Programme Development, Staff Training and Supervision, developing and maintaining Quality of Service, the development of Training Packages for GP’s, and of course, delivery of services to clients.  As well, he has conducted numerous educational and training groups on all aspects of Alcohol and Drug work for GP’s, alcohol and drug workers, community support workers,  Workplace training, etc, and has been a tutor for the Central Institute of Technology's Dual Diagnosis Training Programme, and for the Alcohol and Drug and Drug studies Post Graduate Certificate of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Auckland University.

David is a member of the Drug and Alcohol Practitioners’ Association Aotearoa New Zealand (DAPAANZ), with whom he is a Registered Competent Practitioner. He is also a member of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychodramatists (ANZPA).

He has a Masters degree in Health Science, endorsed in Mental Health, awarded by the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago.

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Dr Graeme Judson

 Medical Officer/Service Clinical Director Taranaki A&D Service (BHB, MBChB, MHSc(Hons, FAChAM)

I have been working in the drug and alcohol field for 18 years mainly in the roles of medical officer for the opiate substitution programme, and home detox. During this period I have worked for the Taranaki A&D service. In the last 10 years I have also had responsibility for being the service clinical director

I have represented the A&D service on the local LAG since 2002 and I chaired the Taranaki LAG from 2002-7.  I am also the A&D representative on the Midland Regional Clinical Leaders forum.

I have 18 years experience in the AOD field and have experience in chairing the LAG.

 

 MR Addictions Forum Terms of Reference 2010

 

 Midland Region Addictions Members

Membership for MR ADD has been aligned to the Local Advisory Group/Stakeholder Group and Maori Advisory Group nomination process.  Nominations represent all five DHBs in the Midland region.  Member of the group are:

Anne Ridgway – Clinical Services Manager MH&A, Taranaki DHB

Credentials
MHSc (Health Service Management), BN, Dip MHN, PG Cert Health Service Management,  Dip Counselling, Cert IV Work Place Training & Assessment, Cert Managing Cultural Diversity in Mental Health , NZQA Cert Supervision

Seventeen years after my initial training as a general nurse, I consciously changed career path and completed a hospital-based diploma in Mental Health Nursing in 1991. The diploma initiated a fundamental change in my views of nursing, as I understood the importance of theory and research to underpin my clinical practice. This stimulated my desire to undertake further study at undergraduate and postgraduate level and in 2002 I was awarded a Masters of Health Science (Health Service Management).  This qualification allowed me to diversify my management roles from  Adult Mental Health and MH Services for  the Older Person to quality and risk manager, coordinator of general and surgical services and management of  Mental Health, Eating disorders and  Detox beds within the private sector.  I was actively involved in developing an organisational cultural audit tool and presented papers on this process.  

 A nomination for the Western Australian Nursing Excellence award and the completion of a Certificate in Managing Cultural Diversity in Mental Health from the Queensland Government whilst the Chair of the Mental Health Cultural Forum for practitioners, prompted me to  apply for the position of Associate Director of Nursing Mental Health and Addictions at TDHB. Thus in 2005, I was able to achieve the goal of working within a bi cultural health setting by migrating to NZ.  I remained as the ADON for 18 months providing nursing expertise across the Taranaki Region including the NGO sector. I was accepted as a Doctoral Student at AUT. However,  the desire to return to management was too strong and I  moved into  the position of Community Mental Health  Manager in 2007.  In 2010,  I was appointed as the Clinical Services Manager Mental Health and Addictions.

Firmly believing that to ensure service delivery is maintained in rural areas, I  have  taken a lead role in developing partnerships with the NGO Sector and currently  manage seconded TDHB staff within Maori Mental Health Services. Additionally, I have been  the management lead for the Better Sooner More Convenient  TDHB demonstration project and have had a lead role in the CAMHS Continuum of Care project to integrate CAMHS and Maori NGO CAMHS service provision. I  have  a special interest in outcomes for Mental Health and Addiction Services thus have  championed for  the use of HONOS as part of clinical utility, introduced Knowing the People Planning and taken a  lead role in promoting key performance indicators for MH.

Skills that I Bring to the Forum

Tracey Tuhi - Manager of Whai Marama Youth Connex (WMYC)

I have been Manager of Whai Marama Youth Connex (WMYC) since 2007; we are a service of Te Runanga O Kirikiriroa and work in partnership with Linkage Trust. Prior to working with WMYC I was a consultant working in the Not for Profit Sector predominantly with NGO’s around infrastructure systems. I have a Bachelor of Laws and am currently working towards a Masters in Management with Waikato University. I was chair and a member of Taiohi Toa Trust from 2005-2008. I really enjoy seeing our youth grow and strengthen their resiliency. The journey of a young person through self discovery to contributing positively to their communities is of particular interest to me. I wish to contribute to this as much as possible which is how I came to work with WMYC, the Team does awesome work in our communities and I feel privileged to lead them.

I’m interested in the representation of the community voice; I am committed to a proactive as opposed to reactive service for our families.  

 

Paul Clifford - Salvation Army

Paul Clifford has been involved in the field of Alcohol and Drug abuse and Problem Gambling with the Salvation Army for 15 years following extensive experience in the field of training and workforce development in the private sector and Management responsibilities for Elderly Care.

He has been the Director of the Auckland (Mt Eden, Waitakere & Manukau) Bridge and Oasis Problem Gambling Programmes on two separate occasions and has also been the Assistant National Manager for the Salvation Army Oasis Centres for Problem Gambling Services.  He is currently in his second term as Director of the Waikato / Midland Salvation Army Bridge Programmes including residential and day programmes plus the regional social detoxification unit in Hamilton and the Bridge Programme in Tauranga.  He is on the executive of DAPAANZ (Drug and Alcohol Practitioners Assn of Aotearoa NZ).

 

 

 More members of MRADD

River Paton
 Venice Wharehinga
 Hineroa Hakiaha
Mahiamai, Taranaki     Te Kupenga, Tairawhiti Te Runanga O Kirikiriroa

 

River Paton, Anne Ridgway, Gramae Judson - Taranaki

Denal Meihana, Richard Foster, Venice Wharehinga - Tairawhiti

Hester Hattingh,  Waylyn Tahuri-Whaipakanga - Bay of Plenty

Diane Nant, Charity Hansen, Wiripo Brown - Lakes

Terry Tumaa, Paul Clifford, Carol Clarke - Waikato