CEO’s Year in Review
In 2013 the Minister of Health set up Health Volunteer Awards to recognise and celebrate the invaluable
contributions of volunteers to the health and disability sector. The DHB put in four nominations and all were
successful: the Tauranga Community Health Liaison Group, Mrs Shirley Waid for her contribution to the
Releasing Time to Care Steering Committee, the Whakatane Cancer Centre Associates and the Children in
Hospital Liaison Group.
A significant national achievement this year was the agreement of all other DHBs to adopt:
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the Māori Health Plan dashboard report and
the Māori Health Plan Champions approach and
establish a leadership structure to oversee and monitor performance against the Māori Health Plan.
The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programme has been introduced into our hospitals for people
having bowel, knee, and hip replacement surgery. The purpose of the ERAS programme is to reduce the stress
of surgery, improve pain relief and thereby enhance the patient’s recovery. Bowel surgery patients are now
able to eat, drink, and are out of bed the day of their surgery, and start walking the following day. Patients feel
better more quickly, and require less time in hospital following their operation.
For patients having joint replacement surgery, ERAS has meant that they are attending physiotherapy,
education and exercise classes before having their surgery. Patients tell us that they feel better prepared for
their surgery and more involved in their care. They’re ready to go home earlier, reducing their stay in hospital
by one day.
A new streamlined treatment option for patients requiring non-urgent gall bladder surgery has also been
introduced. For patients who are otherwise healthy, it is now possible for their family doctor to refer them to
Tauranga Hospital, where they will be booked directly onto a list for surgery. This new process avoids their
having to wait to see a surgeon in a clinic, which was sometimes taking up to five months to happen. It also
reduces the risk of further attacks of gall bladder pain occuring while the patient waits for their surgery.
A Stroke Unit has been established in Tauranga Hospital, on the recommendation from the Ministry of Health
that DHBs develop organised acute stroke services as a matter of urgency. The Unit allows the full clinical
benefit for patients from the onset of the stroke, to their treatment in hospital, through to ongoing
neuro-rehabilitation to reduce the impact of the stroke.
In summary, the past year has been a full and exciting one for staff, with a lot of new initiatives introduced to
ensure better care for our patients while remaining within budget.
Our values of compassion, attitude, responsiveness and excellence have been at the forefront of both our
business-as-usual work, and our new initiatives. Staff and patients recognise the appropriateness of the CARE
values and how quickly they have become embedded into our culture.
I know I am fortunate to be CEO of the Bay of Plenty DHB and that as we move into 2013/14 and the
challenges ahead, we are in good heart to meet the challenges that health care provision brings.
Phil Cammish
CEO, Bay of Plenty District Health Board
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