Braemar Charitable Trust

14/11/2025

A great couple of days spent as an exhibition sponsor at the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists annual conference in Hamilton.

Many attendees at the conference help us provide free surgeries as part of our Community Surgery Programme, and the conference has been a great opportunity to say thanks to these clinicians and a profession that gives so much to us.

09/11/2025

We are extremely proud to announce our Trust Manager, Paula Baker MNZM has received a prestigious 2026 Churchill Fellowship.

Churchill Fellowships help New Zealanders from all walks of life travel overseas to expand their knowledge on topics of significance in New Zealand, returning with inspiration and experience to use and benefit their communities.

One of nine New Zealand recipients, Paula will gather insights, understand best practice, and measure the impact of charity-owned surgical hospitals across the UK.

We know Paula will come back brimming with even more inspiration (if that's possible!) to apply here at Braemar Charitable Trust as we continue to work to enhance health outcomes in our community.

Ka rawe, Paula. We are so proud of you!

Congratulations to the 2026 Churchill Fellows!

Innovation, transformation and resilience are at the heart of this year’s Churchill Fellowships, announced today by the Churchill Memorial Trust Board.

Established in 1965, the Churchill Trust supports New Zealanders from all walks of life to travel overseas, expand their knowledge on topics of national significance, and return with fresh ideas and inspiration to benefit their communities and Aotearoa New Zealand.

“The nine Fellowships cover a diverse range of topics — health and wellbeing innovation, economic transformation, art, culture and identity, and environment and climate resilience,” said Board Chair David Ivory. “We look forward to hearing about the valuable experiences and knowledge they’ll bring back.”

Board Member and 2018 Fellow Ian McDonald added, “As both a past recipient and now a Board Member, I can see some very valuable research will come out of these journeys, leading to exciting findings for New Zealanders.”

Congratulations to the 2026 Churchill Fellowship recipients:
Candice Apelu Mariner (Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington): to explore how Singapore and Malaysia are shifting primary care from reactive "sick care" to proactive, personalised care using Artificial Intelligence and digital tools within culturally relevant, multilingual models.

Robbie Atatoa (Mangaian traditional carver living in Kirikiriroa, Hamilton): for travel to Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, to support identification, translation, and recreation and revitalisation of Mangaian toki (adze).

Paula Baker (Kirikiriroa Hamilton): to gather insights, understand best practice, and measure the impact of charity-owned surgical hospitals across the United Kingdom.

Jeremy Faumuina (Ōtautahi Christchurch): to explore how Spain, Japan, and Australia support high-performance athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Anna Guenther (Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington): to learn from solutions for increasing access to capital for women-founded businesses in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Craig Pritchard (Kapiti): to study approaches in the United Kingdom to wildlife disease surveillance utilising citizen science and drone technology as collaborative and non-invasive wildlife health monitoring tools.

Anna Ryan (Ōtautahi Christchurch): to assess whether New Zealand’s approach to regulating competition in labour markets remains fit for purpose, in light of recent legal developments in jurisdictions such as Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Clive Somerville (Te Ōko Horoi Cambridge): to investigate how the Ruhr Valley (Germany), Basque Country (Spain), and rural Ireland have successfully regenerated under constraint, using infrastructure investment, workforce reinvention, and circular economy models.

Rebecca Styles (Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington): to research how Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States jurisdictions are addressing insurance retreat and underinsurance from increasing natural hazards driven by climate change, and what is being done to help communities mitigate and adapt.

05/11/2025

One of the BEST things about the work we do is seeing how often the people we help want to pay it forward to others.

From 1 April to 31 October 2025, we received a total of $8000 in contributions from patients who were helped as part of our Community Surgery Programme, where we help those who need it most receive free surgeries and health interventions.

Often one of the first things we hear when a patient receives their surgery is, 'can I make a contribution?', keen as they are to help others in the way they have been helped.

No matter the amount they give, it all makes a difference in enabling us to keep helping others in our community. So, a very big and heartfelt THANK YOU to every single patient who has contributed and for the impact they will have on future community surgery recipients.

28/10/2025

Ngāruawāhia student Alec Punga should have been soaking up all his final year of high school had to offer. Instead, he was battling a series of painful ear infections that were affecting his hearing, and his learning and social connections as a result.

Thanks to the efforts of one very dedicated Pinnacle Health school nurse, and some help from Braemar Charitable Trust's community surgery programme, Alec will see out the rest of his school year - and well into his future - being able to hear a pin drop.

Check out this very heartwarming story on our website 👇

Years of chronic middle ear infections had dramatically affected Ngāruawāhia high school student Alec Punga's hearing. Thanks to the dedication of his school nurse, and the Braemar community surgery programme, Alec can now hear a pin drop.

19/10/2025

Tisharne Skinner's first inkling that something wasn't right was about a year ago.

The 21 year-old Huntly woman had just come off birth control, only to experience the first, of what would become many, "excruciating" periods.

Tisharne is one of about 120,000 females in New Zealand who have endometriosis, a chronic, incurable condition that occurs when endometrial tissue grows outside of the uterus, which can cause scarring, ovarian cysts, pelvic adhesions, and in some cases, fertility problems.

In just 10 months Tisharne would accrue 23 hospital visits, including several overnight stays, and multiple GP visits - only to be told it was "part of being a woman."

Faced with a three year wait for an appointment with a gynaecologist, and unable to work due to her pain, Tisharne needed a helping hand.

Hunched over a waiting room chair in extreme agony, Tisharne Skinner didn’t think things could get much worse.The 21-year-old was in Waikato Hospital’s emergency department, for the third time in as m

17/10/2025

We are beyond proud of Braemar Hospital for making history last week and performing the Waikato region's first robotic surgery.

What makes this historic moment even more meaningful is that it was performed on a patient who received life-changing surgery as part of our community surgery programme.

Samantha Akhtar received a robotic hysterectomy after enduring 18 months of severe pain, with the surgery generously performed pro bono by Dr Tarek Saleh.

Now, Samantha can soon get back in the swing of things as a busy and active mum of two and ECE teacher, completely pain free. Check out the full story below.

15/10/2025

Happy World Anaesthesia Day to all who celebrate!

And really, that should be all of us because, quite frankly, anaesthetists are nothing short of magical.

World Anaesthesia Day is celebrated on 16 October to commemorate the first successful use of inhaled ether as an anaesthetic during surgery. The theme this year is 'Anaesthesia in Health Emergencies', acknowledging anaesthetists' role during critical and emergency situations.

We are privileged to have many anaesthetists who generously give their time and skill to enable surgeries and health interventions as part of our community surgery programme. A very, very big thank you to all who help us, including two of our Medical Trustees, consulting anaesthetists Aidan O'Donnell and Alan Goodey.

We're also just a bit glad that things have moved on since this famous painting by Robert Hinckley...

Image source: Wikipedia

07/10/2025

The Fairfield branch of Inner Wheel New Zealand take their role of supporting breast cancer patients literally, through the making of some very supportive pillows designed to reduce discomfort from those recovering from breast surgery.

The club was recently gifted funds from Braemar Charitable Trust to help with costs associated with making the pillows.

Carole Haigh, chief organiser of the pillows' production, has been involved since the project started - about 20 years ago - and says the pillows provide much needed comfort and support to those who have had breast surgery.

"They look a bit like a handbag with a strap over the shoulder and the pillow under the arm to protect the breast or operation site during sleep or in the car where the seat belt sits. A lot of people tell us they're just as nice to hold on to as they're made out of a silky satin fabric and plus stuffing on the inside."

Over 20 years, Carole reckons the group has made more than 3000 pillows, about 160 a year, which are supplied to hospitals to be given to patients post-op.

We're proud to support the efforts of this wonderful group and their commitment to helping breast cancer patients get through their day with a little bit more comfort.

05/10/2025

Here is some very happy reading for us today. After a spot of number crunching last week we're excited to report that in the past six months (1 April to 30 September) we have helped 127 people with free surgery or procedures.

Just six months into the financial year and we are already coming close to our full year figures for 2024/2025 - last year we helped 156 people across 12 months, so we're picking we will exceed that well and truly come March 2026!

It goes without saying this is only achieved by the help and support we receive from surgeons, anaesthetists and our volunteer community. With a massive 421 hours clocked between all of our volunteers, we're constantly in awe of the support we receive and what can be achieved when like minded people get together.

29/09/2025

At our recent Community Surgery Day we were beyond thrilled to have Cherie, Roz and Mercedes (pictured with our Trust Manager Paula) in the on-site dental van to whiz through some patients in need of some TLC - and we hear they loved being greeted by these lovely faces when they came in!

Quality dental care is a crucial factor of overall health, wellbeing and quality of life - but we know that access and cost can be huge barriers to care.

Having the dental van at Community Surgery Day for referred patients enabled us to directly help those struggling to access dental care, so a massive thank you to these lovely ladies for helping us out on the day.

24/09/2025

We'd like to acknowledge and give a massive thank you to our outgoing Medical Trustee, Jason Donovan, and announce the reappointment of Jasen Ly for his second term on the Braemar Charitable Trust.

Jason served one term with us and chose to not seek reappointment due to increasing commitments in his work in public and private practice.

An orthopaedic surgeon, Jason has been a great supporter of our Community Surgery Programme and an outstanding sounding board for advice and input when assessing referrals to the programme, as well as his thoughtful questions, comments and observations he shared with us during his three year term.

Colorectal and general surgeon Jasen Ly has been reappointed for another three years as Medical Trustee. He is also a significant supporter of our Community Surgery Programme, providing several free surgeries, procedures and specialist consultations both at Braemar Hospital and in the community. He is also currently involved in upskilling GPs in the community, and we're very pleased his insights and assistance will remain with the Trust for another three years as we continue to grow our community surgery offerings.

Please join with us in thanking and wishing Jason all the very best, and in welcoming Jasen for another term.

18/09/2025

We are thrilled to announce we are finalists in the 'For Purpose' category at this year's Waikato Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.

This category recognises excellence in not-for-profit organisations that apply commercial strategies to maximise improvements in community wellbeing, reinvesting profit or surplus to achieve its social mission. We are so grateful to everyone who has worked with us to help improve health outcomes in our community.

The winners will be announced on Friday 21 November, and as a finalist we’re also in the running for People’s Choice Award – and we’d love your vote! Click below to vote for us, and we’d love you to encourage others in your network to as well. We are so grateful for your support!

Congratulations to all the other finalists, we look forward to celebrating you all at the Gala Dinner!

https://waikatochamber503.outgrow.us/2025waikatobusinessawards-peopleschoice

Photo credit: Stephen Barker, Barker Photography