JANUARY 2020
CE update
Waikato DHB to improve rural hospital retrieval services
Waikato Hospital is a major trauma hospital, a tertiary care provider to four other midland areas and our four rural hospitals. We have recognised that there are times when our ability to retrieve severely ill patients from outlying parts of Waikato and the Midland region is overwhelmed. The DHB has recently dedicated project and service management resources to work with our key clinical staff and stakeholders across the DHB to improve rural hospital retrieval services. I am committed to resolving this long-standing system issue with a recommended outcome this month. Interim measures have been implemented until the final and sustainable solutions are arrived at. It should be noted that any transport system may be susceptible to the impact of events such as severe weather, road closures or multiple and simultaneously competing demands for the same services, but this should be kept to a minimum. Waikato Hospital’s status as a major trauma hospital and tertiary provider places high demands on the transport system. Over the past 10 years demand has grown significantly due to growth in population and the burden of chronic diseases, coupled with advances in clinical technology and medical therapies. I am aware that staff are under pressure working in the relative isolation of our rural hospitals in general, and more so when faced with seriously and critically ill patients. When transport assets are not readily available, this adds to those pressures. The DHB is indebted to the skills and dedication of our clinical and non-clinical staff that work in our rural health facilities.
Alliance
Te Korowai Waiora, the Waikato Health System Plan, confirms the need for transformation. We have worked to establish the Waikato Primary and Community Healthcare Alliance which met for the first time in January. The Alliance brings together key stakeholders in our Waikato health system, including primary and secondary care, community pharmacy, allied health, St John, and interim Iwi MÄ ori Council representation. The Alliance will be supporting the development of new locality-based integrated models of care addressing inequities and improving health outcomes. Further discussions will be occurring with the Alliance around an enhanced primary and community care model needed to deliver better outcomes and ensuring the membership of the alliance reflects the group’s purpose. A general sense of excitement and alignment was felt in this first meeting recognising that community investment and workforce development will be vital for success.
Update on executive restructure
In December I shared the decision on the second phase of our executive leadership refresh, which ensures we have a leadership structure in place that supports our goals to improve healthcare service delivery to our community and the experience of staff and stakeholders who work with the DHB. The new structure is a simplified approach, reducing the number of executive roles to nine and creating reporting lines for teams and work streams which have a natural alignment. This is intended to improve efficiency and reduce the risk of silos. The structure was achieved through a combination of expanding some roles, adjusting reporting lines, and in some cases it was necessary to disestablish positions. With the new roles now established we will begin external recruitment this month and aim to have permanent appointments in place as soon as possible. In the interim a number of our former executives have agreed to fill the new roles in an acting capacity, for which I am grateful.
