Chair’s Year in Review
The start of a new year naturally brings with it an anticipation of the opportunities and challenges that lay
ahead, but it also marks a time of reflection for the 12 months which have just passed.
A defined set of values is essential to an organisation. An aspect of particular note during this last year has
been the way in which our staff members have assimilated to our core values, embedding them into the
organisation.
CARE (Compassion, Attitude, Responsiveness and Excellence) was introduced as our aspirational values in
2011/12. However it was last year, in the first full year of its implementation, that we witnessed the daily
benefits of engaged staff using these values in the course of their duties.
The cohesiveness of values and the shared identity they create translates to an improved health service
delivery and, most importantly, a better patient experience.
Great satisfaction can be taken from such successes but in the ever-evolving world of healthcare, it represents
one of many policies and initiatives undertaken.
In the past 12 months, a strong emphasis has been placed on encouraging more parents to enrol their children
into a dental clinic. This has increased good oral health and reduced the number of pre-school and school-aged
children overdue for examination rates to reach our target of 10%, with adolescent utilisation also improving.
At a strategic level, we are working more collaboratively with the other four Midland DHBs to achieve greater
health, improved integration and better clinical pathways for our people to be thriving and healthy.
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board (DHB) and Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) forum is now well
established and working well. We have used this opportunity to further strengthen our relationships and have
approved the development of the five-year Integrated HealthCare Strategy. It is notable that the 2013/14
Annual Plan has been signed up to by all of our PHOs.
There have also been significant developments in terms of infrastructure. In January the Minister of Health
Tony Ryall, opened a new stroke unit for use by all Bay of Plenty residents, at Tauranga Hospital. Last year
about 300 Bay residents suffered a stroke and they have benefited immensely from this facility (as will others
like them in the future).
June saw the announcement of the $32 million state-of-the-art radiotherapy unit at Tauranga Hospital. It will
be completed by mid-2014, with treatments starting towards the end of 2014, and will mean patients no
longer have to travel out of the region for treatment. It will also be the country’s first partly solar-powered
radiotherapy facility.
Such growth and innovation is all the more impressive because it is being achieved within a financially
constrained environment. In such an environment the efficient and effective allocation of resources is
paramount and the fact that our year end result was once again achieved within budget shows the emphasis
placed on this area.
We are determined the Bay of Plenty DHB will continue to strive for ongoing achievement of the
Government’s priorities, the Minister’s expectations, the national Health Targets and our six key strategic
priorities. The Board’s strategic priorities are:
1) Health Targets
The Government’s Health Targets provide clear and specific focus for action to improve patient care and
therefore better outcomes for the people of the Bay of Plenty.
2) Māori Health/Disparities
The long-term goal is for Māori within the Bay of Plenty region to have the same level of wellness as non-
Māori.
3) Health of Older People
Being proactive in the management of services for the population increase in older people, with an
emphasis on wellness and encouraging healthy independent living.
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