We are very sad to advise that our friend and colleague Anna Swain passed away this week, surrounded by her family, following a courageous battle with motor neurone disease.

Anna was a long-serving and much-loved member of our practice team. As our Clinical Nursing Lead and Equity Champion, she was a driving force behind our Māori health plan and worked tirelessly to ensure we were providing culturally responsive care.

As our Diabetes Lead, Anna made a huge difference to the lives of our patients living with diabetes. She established and led our dedicated diabetes clinic, bringing her knowledge, compassion and commitment to improving patient care to everything she did.

More than this, Anna was a teacher, mentor and friend. Her kindness, care and courage touched so many people, both within our team and among the patients she cared for.

Anna made a lasting contribution to our practice and to the many people fortunate enough to work alongside her and be cared for by her. She will be deeply missed and will always be remembered with great affection and respect.

Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Anna’s family and loved ones at this very difficult time.