Dr Hohepa Cumming Appointed Clinical Lead at Ora Toa

Dr Hohepa Cumming

Ora Toa Health Services has announced the appointment of Dr Hohepa Cumming as its new Clinical Lead, a move welcomed by staff and the community as the Porirua-based provider continues to strengthen culturally grounded, whānau-centred primary healthcare.

Dr Cumming (Ngāti Toa Rangatira , Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga , Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi) steps into the role with extensive experience working in high-need Māori communities across the motu, and a strong commitment to advancing equitable health outcomes for Māori and Pacific whānau.

Ora Toa is a large provider in Porirua steeped in kaupapa Māori that encompasses five centres across Porirua and Pōneke Wellington, including the dedicated youth hub The 502 Rangatahi Ora. Prioritising high quality, low-cost primary healthcare for Māori and non-Māori in its region, Ora Toa is guided by the principle of tino rangatiratanga, enabling whānau to lead their own health journeys that align with their values and aspirations.

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Director Health Services Michael Rongo says the appointment signals a continued focus on clinical excellence, innovation and holistic care that moves beyond traditional models.

“We’re deliberate about the kind of leadership we grow and bring into Ora Toa because we’re serious about equity. Dr Cumming brings clinical capability, but just as importantly, he understands what it means to walk alongside whānau and navigate the realities they face. I see this appointment bringing the kind of leadership that challenges a system that too often has asked whānau to fit into models that were never designed for them,” he says.

Raised in Tūranga-a-Kiwa (Gisborne), Dr Cumming was educated in kura kaupapa Māori before completing his secondary schooling at Lytton High School, where he was awarded Dux. His academic achievements continued at the University of Auckland School of Medical, graduating as the recipient of the ProCare Annual Prize for General Practice in 2014. More recently, he was appointed to the board of Te Ora (Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa), the national association for Māori medical doctors.

From the outset, Dr Cumming’s medical career has been guided by a desire to serve Māori communities. He began as a junior doctor in Rotorua, choosing a regional hospital in a predominantly Māori area to deepen his understanding of hauora Māori practice. After further hospital experience in Auckland, he worked as a GP in Māngere before moving to Whanganui to work with Te Oranganui – again selecting a setting where he could make a meaningful contribution.

Dr Cumming later returned to Rotorua, spending five years completing his GP training. Working in high-deprivation areas reinforced for him the realities behind health inequity statistics, particularly the impact of housing, income and systemic barriers on whānau wellbeing.

“You can feel helpless at times,” says Dr Cumming, “when so much of people’s health is shaped by social factors and the ongoing effects of colonisation and institutional racism. For me, it’s about advocacy, doing the best we can clinically, and rebuilding trust through whanaungatanga.”

As Clinical Lead, Dr Cumming is focused on strengthening holistic models of care while building workforce capability to meet increasingly complex needs. He is particularly interested in

expanding the roles of healthcare assistants and nurses – an approach he has seen succeed elsewhere amid national doctor shortages.

Now based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, reconnecting with Ngāti Toa Rangatira whānau in Takapūwāhia has added another layer of meaning to his work.

“Meeting patients who knew my koro and hearing their stories, it’s something really special that I didn’t get in Gisborne or Rotorua,” he smiles.

Outside medicine, Dr Cumming nurtures his creative side through regular waiata with his whānau, grounding himself in wairua and whakapapa.

Ultimately, his vision aligns closely with the kaupapa of Ora Toa: thriving communities exercising mana motuhake over their health.

“We don’t accept the life expectancy gap for Māori and Pacific peoples,” he says. “If that means taking longer than a standard appointment to build relationships, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Ora Toa is proud to welcome Dr Hohepa Cumming into the role and looks forward to the positive changes his leadership will bring for whānau across the rohe.