Extended term brings new public processes for Southern DHB Commissioner team

The Southern DHB Commissioner team has introduced a series of public consultation forums as it prepares for an additional three years in its governance role.

These include regular public meetings, statutory committee meetings and patient panels.

The Commissioner team was appointed in June 2015, initially for an 18-month period, with an urgent responsibility to move the SDHB towards financial and clinical sustainability. This saw the team quickly establish a workplan focusing on a series of immediate improvement measures, as well as investing in a number of ‘building blocks’ required to put the DHB in a stronger long term position.

During this period, the community and stakeholders were updated through meetings, newsletters and the publication of its committee papers on the website. The Southern Future programme was also instigated as a major consultation process, generating over 3000 items of feedback from patients, whānau and staff.

Legislation passed in parliament last week saw the Commissioner team’s term extended until the 2019 local body election to enable it to maintain momentum on the progress being made.

Commissioner Kathy Grant comments that as the team prepares for a longer-term role, it was timely to look at the opportunities that were being provided for public input.

“We look forward to increased opportunities to discuss our activities with the community, gain their feedback and answer questions. The Southern Future listening sessions were extremely valuable for us in terms of gaining a real understanding of the community’s priorities. We are keen to build on this and continue to work together to deliver the health care system our district needs.”

The first open statutory committee meetings will be held consecutively from 1pm, on 25 May, at the Wakari Hospital board room.

Public consultation opportunities will include:

Bi-monthly SDHB public forums, with agenda items able to be suggested by members of the community
Resumption of statutory committees
Hospital Advisory Committee (HAC)
Disability Support Advisory (DSAC) and Community and Public Health Advisory (CPHAC) joint Committees

Establishment of Alliance South Community Health Council – expressions of interest will be called for in the coming weeks
Further patient consultation groups are being explored, including regionally-based and online options.

ENDS

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