Pakuranga Medical Centre has been sold.
Tend Health – a primary healthcare provider which offers GP services online and in-clinic – has purchased two major medical centres – Auckland’s Symonds Street Medical Centre and Pakuranga Medical Centre. It says it is 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,” says Robinson.
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 the country 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,” says Robinson.
Symonds Street Medical Centre has been fully refurbished and reopens as a brand new Tend Medical Centre in early December. 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.
Typical conditions treated include mental health, women’s health, sexual health, pediatrics and repeat prescriptions.
