CE update
JANUARY 2020
Shift to hybrid fleet saves money, reduces emissions This month, seven hybrid Toyota Prius and Camry vehicles joined the Waikato DHB’s vehicle fleet, adding to the 10 which arrived last November. By the end of 2023, the hybrid fleet will be up to 390, replacing the majority of the petrol fleet. This change has been fuelled not only by environmental motivations but also the lower running costs hybrid technology offers. Waikato DHB’s sustainability coordinator Katie Hine worked on the project with procurement senior specialist Sarah Macrae. The carbon inventory Hine developed for Waikato DHB as a benchmark late last year showed fuel from the vehicle fleet makes up about 9% of the DHB’s overall carbon emissions. “Shifting to hybrid will contribute to lowering these Katie and Sarah with new hybrid car emissions,” Katie says. “The hybrids will deliver an estimated 39% reduction in fuel, which is a great step towards lowering our carbon emissions and saving money.” Sarah confirms that from a procurement perspective it was important to look at the value of the hybrids as part of the wider cost picture. “In fact the price of the Prius hybrid turned out to be about the same as a standard vehicle fleet replacement. The Camry hybrid is a bigger car and costs a little bit more, but the savings in fuel are also greater.” Hybrid vehicles were chosen because the infrastructure for fully electric vehicles cannot support longer journeys to smaller towns and rural areas in Waikato and the cost of putting in charging bays on DHB sites could not be justified at this stage. “Hybrid was a perfect compromise - it gives us reliability and cost savings, as well as reducing our fleet carbon footprint,” Katie says. The cars are getting the thumbs-up from staff too for being so quiet, easy to drive, and equipped with standard features that were not available in some of the older fleet cars they are replacing.
Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative accreditation
Gynaecology surgery to start at Thames Hospital
It is with pleasure that we announce Waikato DHB primary and tertiary services across Taumarunui, Tokoroa, Te Kuiti, Thames and Hamilton have passed the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) audit and are accredited to March 2022 as baby friendly facilities.
From mid-February 2020 the Waikato Women’s Health Service will commence fortnightly gynaecology operating lists at Thames Hospital. As many of you will know, Women’s Health underwent significant transformation following the loss of training accreditation in 2015. Since that time, the service has gone from strength to strength, regaining accreditation back in early 2019, with a fully recruited Senior Medical Officer (SMO) team, nine Obstetrics & Gynaecology trainees as well as sub-specialty fellows.
This required a huge effort from all staff from frontline and support staff to lactation consultants through to clinicians including midwives, nurses and doctors across our maternity services. Monitored by New Zealand Breastfeeding Alliance, the BFHI is a key quality improvement tool for DHBs that supports babies, mothers and whānau to breastfeed. Baby friendly facilities also work to ensure that all women, regardless of their feeding method, receive unbiased information, support and professional advice on feeding their babies. Congratulations to all staff involved in this great Waikato team achievement.
The Women’s Health Service is now in a position to branch out into the rural areas, starting by offering non-complex gynaecological surgery at Thames. This exciting development will be the start of more services being offered in the rural areas which we hope will improve equity and access for the many women who do not reside in Hamilton.
This update will be published monthly, if you have anything happening in your area and think I should know about it please email news@waikatodhb.health.nz
