This year marks the Youth Health Clinic's sixth year in operation – and yet, very little is known about this mobile GP practice.

Youth worker Mickel Rawiri with the container clinic.

'I'm not surprised you found it on Facebook,” says Te Rūnanga o Ngai Te Rangi Iwi Trust Operations Manager Kuku Wawatai.

'We don't want to over promote it, because I don't think we could handle it!”

The cat's out of the bag now, but not because this reporter necessarily wants to draw more users to this free health service; it's about highlighting the work Kuku and his team are doing in suburbs that have been significantly marginalised.

Based in a brightly decorated container, which travels on the back of a truck, the Youth Health Clinic – or HBU, How ‘Bout You? as it is known to its patients – sets up shop during twilight from 6.00pm-10pm in areas such as Merivale, Welcome Bay, Arataki/Papamoa and Katikati throughout the week to aid residents aged 17-to-24.

With two doctors and a nurse on the staff, the clinic is designed to diagnose, treat and advise patients in a non-confrontational and easy-to-access environment, eliminating some of the fear that can be associated with attending a traditional doctor's practice. 'There is no shame,” says Kuku.

'Elsewhere you will have to pay a fee and sit in a waiting room and pretend to be a swanky individual. We have patients who are worried their socks aren't the same colour. It's clinical, but with a non-clinical environment.”

When patients arrive, a youth worker, Mickel Rawiri, is on site to greet them and make them feel at ease before even they step foot into the container clinic.

'He creates a transitional interface between the person and clinic, to make the person feel relaxed before going over the threshold,” explains Kuku.

Mickel says the feedback from some of the youths and their families he has spoken with is very positive, adding: 'They can't believe they didn't hear about it earlier.

'A lot of people are struggling to get by, so having some sort of relief on funds can make a huge difference to them.”

With funding from the DHB PHO allowing the clinic to pay for their doctor's services, numbers must be met, and at this stage, about 1200-1500 are using the services each year.

'But that doesn't mean we operate on a turnstyle system,” adds Kuku. 'A lot of our referrals are drug related or about mental unwellness. You cannot advise these patients in just 15 minutes, so we do our best to give them as much of our time and attention as is required.”

Common treatments include general colds and illnesses, as well as infectious skin diseases and pregnancy and contraception. Kuku says it's not just about reaching out to the individual, but their extended whanau to educate as many people as they can.

'Quite often the individual is an indicator of the environment they and their family live in.

'So we're interested in getting everyone involved in the conversation. There could be four to five people inside the clinic at one time.

'We want to make a difference, and shine a light on areas that need to be addressed. It's that simple act of asking ‘How ‘Bout You?' and just checking in.”