Health board planning improvements to structure

6 April 2006

Health board planning improvements to structure

Bay of Plenty District Health Board is planning to refocus its provider arm, Pacific Health’s structure, to improve service delivery to the community and enhance clinical governance within the organisation.

Proposed changes in brief:

- Geographic alignment moving to a clinical services focus

- Development of seven ‘clinical clusters’ - Mental Health; Surgical; Medical; Women, Child and Family; Acute Services, Clinical Support; Maori Health and Non-Clinical Support.

- Reestablishment of Community Health and Disability services (CHADs)

- Clinical Directors reporting directly to Medical Director, and Clinical Nurse Leaders directly to the Provider Arm Director of Nursing to enhance clinical decision- making.

- Reinforcing clinical governance principles through new clinician led committees.

The proposed new structure, which has its principles based on service delivery across the whole Bay of Plenty geography rather than aligned to a hospital site, would see Pacific Health move from a facility model to a service model, with ‘cluster’ managers responsible for the delivery of services across both Tauranga and Whakatane Hospitals.

Chief Operating Officer, Graham Dyer, explains that the service model will assist with better delivery and more equitable access to health care across the district by focusing on the service, rather than the facility or area in which the service is delivered.

Mr Dyer says that to ensure that clinical staff have the ability to influence the operations and directions of the organisation the change would see clinical directors report directly to the medical director, and clinical nurse leaders to the provider director of nursing.

“Enhanced clinical governance will also be of benefit to both the organisation and the community, because it ensures that those working at the coal face are in touch with the health needs of the community and will have a stronger say on organisational direction,” says Mr Dyer.

This includes ensuring that appropriate clinical policies and protocols are in place and actioned effectively, and that service delivery is meeting the needs of the community.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board staff are currently being consulted with prior to the changes being completed by 30 June.

It is expected that the changes will have a positive flow-on impact across the whole organisation.

Where possible, any staff affected by the new configuration will be redeployed to new positions within the organisation.

Whilst not the sole objective of these changes Mr Dyer says that any savings or efficiencies made as a consequence of the proposed changes will be greatly welcomed, and will enable health services for the community to be improved.

ENDS

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