ANZ customers in Nelson, Richmond and Motueka took advantage of free blood pressure checks on Wednesday as part of a community health initiative between the bank and Maori health provider Te Piki Oranga.
ANZ’s Bryce Macdonald and his wife Dianne, who works for Te Piki Oranga, arranged the free checks that were held from 11am to 2pm. The bank decided to offer free blood pressure checks as part of its community service and approached Dianne and Te Piki Oranga which agreed to help out.
Te Piki is a new health provider, formed last year, that aims to encourage Maori in Nelson and Marlborough to take ownership of their health.
“We are always getting involved with the community and one of our senior managers thought the blood pressure checks would be a good idea,” ANZ Richmond branch manager Peter Herrick says. “If you don’t get your blood pressure tested, you just don’t know.”
Peter says the ANZ is considering making the free checks an annual event.
Te Piki Oranga nurse Carlie Tahu says they tested over 20 people at the Richmond branch. She says many of the people they tested took advantage of the opportunity to have a free check.
“It’s important to have your blood pressure checked regularly but it costs to see a GP or nurse so people were taking advantage of this free service,” Carlie says.
