5 mins with ... Frances Knight

Frances Knight (Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāi Tahu) is one busy wahine! By day, she is a Kaitiaki o Te Taiaoa (health protection officer) with Nelson Marlborough Public Health and in her free time she’s an active member of the Marlborough Response Team, which recently became only the second in the country to achieve new emergency response accreditation standards. Frances has also recently been selected for New Zealand’s Medical Assistance Team (NZMAT), which is the Ministry of Health’s international deployable humanitarian relief team in Aotearoa.

Frances is also studying toward her Masters in Public Health as part of the He Ara Tokai programme, a partnership between Te Kotahi o Te Tauihu Trust at Te Rau Puawai to support the development of the Te Tauihu Māori mental health workforce.

We sat down with Frances to learn more about her work in emergency response. 

Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor and Marlborough District Council Chief Executive Mark Wheeler with the Marlborough Response Team. Frances is pictured front row, second from right.

Photo: Marlborough District Council

Tell us about growing up, did you always have an interest in public health?

At high school I developed an interest for sciences but decided to take a gap year to work and travel. After traveling around Asia, especially in the Himalayas, it exposed to me the lack of healthcare available which inspired me to pursue a career in health.

What sorts of things do you do in your job day to day?

Investigate diseases, undertake mosquito surveillance, ship inspections, early childhood licensing, emergency management and much more. Health Protection is very varied which is why I love it.

How did you start out in emergency response work?

After the Kaikoura Earthquake, I enquired with Gary Spence at the Marlborough Civil Defence Emergency Management group, which got me onto the volunteer response team.

What’s been the most memorable experience in terms of your emergency response work to date?

Any emergency response I have been involved with; the team atmosphere is the most memorable image you have. The connection you have with others is special because we are all there for the same reasons.

We live in Aotearoa, never far from an impending disaster. It’s probably a good idea we have as many people skilled in emergency response as possible. Where’s a good place to start if someone was thinking about starting to skill up in this area?

Investigate your closest Civil Defence community group or reach out to your local council Emergency Management Group. Someone will be sure to set you on your path.

What’s the No 1 thing we can all do as whānau, hapū and iwi to prepare for a widespread emergency?

Have a plan and a back up one too!

Quick 5

River/Ocean

Hangi/Boil up

L.A.B/Six60

Marahau/The Sounds

Kina/Pāua Neither! Crayfish for sure!