13 December 2021
Tend Health has today announced the purchase of two major medical centres – Auckland’s Symonds Street Medical Centre and Pakuranga Medical Centre – as part of its strategy to build access to high quality in-person clinical care, integrated with Tend’s smart technology.
Tend co-CEO Cecilia Robinson says “the two clinics see the company grow its fully integrated, in-person and online primary healthcare service. Symonds Street and Pakuranga Medical Centres are important milestones for Tend as we work toward our goal of making New Zealanders the healthiest people in the world through improving access to high-quality clinical care with the help of world class technology.”
The acquisition of the two clinics follows Tend Health’s recent capital raise, which supports the company to continue acquiring medical practices across Auckland and throughout Aotearoa and grow Tend’s physical footprint nationally.
“Our GP workforce is ageing, and many practice owners are struggling with succession planning as they approach retirement, with a shrinking pool of potential general practitioners willing or able to buy-in. We believe we can be part of the solution to this problem and are actively seeking further opportunities throughout the country as we continue on our growth journey.”
Symonds Street Medical Centre has been fully refurbished and reopens as a brand new Tend Medical Centre in early December. Conveniently centrally located near two major university campuses, the clinic will serve a significant portion of inner-city Auckland residents as a primary care and immigration medical services provider with onsite X-ray facilities.
“Symonds Street Medical Centre complements Tend’s existing clinic in Kingsland and the two clinics will work together to offer more options for Aucklanders to see a doctor when they need to and how they want to,” says Robinson.
“The population of central Auckland is growing, and it is a diverse population that is not currently well served with nearly 50,000 people not enrolled with any general practitioner in the Auckland District Health Board region. The acquisition of the Symonds Street Clinic will allow Tend to offer those living in central Auckland easier access to innovative primary healthcare on their terms.”
Complementing Tend’s existing in-person clinics in Kingsland and in the central city, the Pakuranga Medical Centre is a modern, full service clinic serving a large area of east Auckland. Following its acquisition, the Tend team will work to integrate the Pakuranga Medical Centre in 2022 with the Tend platform as its east Auckland medical hub.
One of the former owners of the Pakuranga Medical Centre GP Eileen Sables says, “we are very excited to work with the Tend team over the coming years to build the future of primary healthcare in this country and to continue to serve the local Pakuranga community.”
“We were impressed by their vision and technological capabilities to deliver high quality primary healthcare services that make it easier and more convenient for people to access a GP. Tend’s also about utilising technology to reduce admin so we can spend more time with our patients - in-person or online.”
Tend was founded in 2020 by Cecilia and James Robinson, the founders of My Food Bag, alongside Harvard-educated and public health expert Dr. Mataroria Lyndon and Pushpay’s former tech executive Josh Robb.
Since November 2020, Tend has enabled more than 80,000 patient interactions, with two thirds of patient concerns treated effectively via online app consultations with over 95% patient satisfaction. Typical conditions treated include mental health, women's health, sexual health, pediatrics and repeat prescriptions.
Robinson says she is incredibly proud of what the Tend team has achieved together in the first year.
“We came together driven by the belief there is a better way to deliver healthcare in New Zealand and to ensure the future of primary healthcare continues to be owned and led by Kiwis. For too long, we have been expected to live with an outdated model of how primary healthcare services should be delivered here in New Zealand,” says Robinson.
“Technology allows us to rethink how we do things so that we are able to put the patient at the centre of healthcare delivery. This allows Kiwis to access healthcare on their own terms and will ultimately deliver better outcomes.”
The Tend App is now available free to download at www.tend.nz/get. Once downloaded, Aucklanders can either register as a casual patient or enrol with Tend as their primary care provider.