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Christchurch Support Resources

Following the appalling and tragic events of Friday 15 March 2019, PNZ Office worked with the Canterbury Branch as well as other health and physiotherapy organisations to gather advice and support for all members.

Physiotherapy is a healing profession and this act of terrorism affected us as health practitioners; our families, whānau and friends; our patients and the community we know as Aotearoa New Zealand.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to look for relevant information and share with us.

ACC Support

ACC notified physiotherapists in September 2021 that their support of physiotherapy services following the March 2019 Christchurch terror attacks will continue to 30 June 2022. Please read their full message below.

"Following the Christchurch terror attacks on 15 March 2019, ACC funded free visits for victims access general practice, physiotherapy, and osteopathy services.

We are writing to let you know we have extended this support to 30 June 2022. This is to help support the ongoing care individuals are still requiring and accessing - and aligns to how long some of the broader supports at Canterbury DHB are in place for.

For reference, the additional support we are providing includes:

  • where a practice elects to waive or reduce the usual co-payment, please continue to advise your providers to bill ACC against one of the following codes:
    • GENX for general practice services
    • PHYX for physiotherapy services
    • OSTX for osteopathy services
  • cover for mental health injuries from the attack where:
    • there is a mental injury that is caused by a physical injury, or;
    • the mental injury occurred while they were working e.g. someone working at one of the mosques or a plumber driving to a job who directly witnessed the shooting (whether physically injured or not).

You can find further information available support for victims on our website:

acc.co.nz/about-us/news-media/latest-news/christchurch/

Note: To invoice ACC for the co-payment contribution your providers will need to add the above codes to their PMS system. Please advise them to contact their PMS Support desk directly if they are experiencing any issues with this.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch."

From a UK physiotherapy colleague

Many thanks to the NZ physiotherapist who bought to our attention “the great presentation" that she saw at WCPT on Culture and Pain which was presented by Mohammad Shoiab – a UK physiotherapist. We contacted Shoiab and below is his response plus further links and resources. Thank you Shoiab!

Unfortunately, I am aware of the terror attack of Christchurch from the UK media. Here are some resources I can share with you:

I actively use my Twitter account (@shoiab1) to share many journal articles, leaflets, resources etc around culture and pain management www.twitter.com/shoiab1. Do follow me and hope to interact with you on that platform too.

I am also now involved in the UK physiotherapy body, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), in helping to action the WCPT Diversity and Inclusion policy. Read about the CSP diversity networks and watch a recording of the WCPT Congress 2019 Focused Symposium on Diversity and Inclusion.

Resources are available from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Pain related to Torture, Organised Violence and War Special Interest Group (TOVW SIG). Under the resources tab, there are some helpful documents available for free. The TOVW SIG are also on Twitter and the IASP Global Year campaign for 2019 is Against Pain in the Most Vulnerable.

Further resources are below, listed by language.

Urdu

Arabic

Farsi

Somali

Bengali

Welcome sign

For anyone who would like to use them, please find links to download welcome signs below – translated in Arabic, English and Māori. Many thanks to Associate Professor Doa El-Ansary and Transformer Design for helping make these available.

New patient consent form and welcome message

The Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand and PNZ have provided an ACC client consent form as well as welcome message for practices, translated into multiple languages below.

New Zealand resources and links
  • NEED TO TALK? Call or Text 1734. This contact number is available to all in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Information from Health Central NZ
  • “Like people all around the country, here at Health Central we are reeling with the shock of what happened in Christchurch last week. In our update we provide some practical support and advice.” Kia kaha, New Zealand. Stay Strong.
Resources to help with mental distress after Christchurch incident
  • The Ministry of Health has made new resources available to support those who are experiencing mental distress following the horrific Christchurch mosque shootings. Read more.
Christchurch mosque shootings: Mental health helpline inundated with calls
  • A mental health helpline has been inundated with calls following the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch. Read more.
How to talk to your kids about: Trauma
  • The Parenting Place team in Christchurch has a psychologist's age-by-age guide for those affected by Friday's events. Read more.
The Paper Doll Project – why the Christchurch mosque shootings won’t define Kiwi values
  • Two Bay of Plenty siblings are eager for other Kiwi kids to support them in demonstrating that Aotearoa New Zealand is a place of diversity and acceptance. They want schools and families to send in their paper doll chains to form a single long, colourful chain representing harmony between cultures. Read more.
Businesses Supporting Christchurch: What you can do
  • An article from stepchangers.org for businesses. Read more.
Related international links shared by the wider physiotherapy community 
From our Canadian physiotherapy colleagues
From our Australian physiotherapy colleagues

Page updated September 2021