NHB & Southern DHB to conduct a assement of Dunedin hospital

May 25 2011

The National Health Board and Southern District Health Board are to undertake a joint assessment of systems at Dunedin Hospital, beginning this month.

The assessment will focus on ensuring that Dunedin Hospital systems are as good as they need to be and supporting the Southern DHB to make any necessary improvements.

“Our aim is to work with and support Southern DHB to deliver the best possible services to patients at Dunedin Hospital,” National Health Board deputy national director Michael Hundleby said.

“There are a range of issues we want to take a systems wide look at within the hospital to see if there are any problems and, if so, to look at how they can be addressed.”

Longstanding issues which have prompted the assessment include:

•Poor Emergency Department waiting times

•Long radiology waiting lists and poor data on the number of people waiting

•Booking processes which were inconsistent with national practice

•Issues with access to colonoscopy procedures

•Comments by the South Island Neurosurgery Panel, in last year’s review, about the level of investment in Neurosurgery and its affect on the viability of the service

“We would like to acknowledge the hard work that teams at Dunedin Hospital are already putting into improving these areas.

“Our assessment is focused on hospital systems. It is not about individual clinical practice.

“It will look at patient flow and administrative systems within the hospital and ties in with and informs Southern DHB’s current review of its campus development needs over the next decade.”

The assessment will be carried out by National Health Board service improvement manager Jill Lane, Ministry of Health chief nurse Jane O’Malley, Professor of Emergency Medicine Canterbury DHB Dr Mike Ardagh and a senior medical specialist, to be announced.

“This team will work with a range of Southern DHB staff to complete the assessment and implement any recommendations.

“The assessment will begin this month and recommendations will be made and implemented as the assessment progresses,” Mr Hundleby said.

ENDS

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