ASMS Urges Government to Better Support, Not Punish Canterbury DHB Post-Quakes
“Canterbury District Health Board has an enormous amount of work on its plate due to the prolonged impact of the
devastation of the earthquakes and not enough money to do it – but it also has some of the best DHB leadership in the
country,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS).
He was responding to media reports of government concern about the financial performance of the Canterbury DHB, and
speculation that some members of the DHB’s Board fear they might end up being dismissed like the board of the Southern
DHB (http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/69641932/Ministry-of-Health-concerned-about-financial-performance-of-CDHB).
“Getting rid of the Canterbury DHB’s Board (and possibly the rest of its leadership) should be the last thing the
Government should be considering, and we hope there’s no basis to this speculation. There is no comparison between
Southern DHB where its Board was dismissed and Canterbury DHB. They are chalk-and-cheese,” says Mr Powell.
“In our experience and in the assessment of hospital specialists, Canterbury is the best DHB when it comes to working
with its senior doctors and dentists, and encouraging their involvement in leadership, including in the design of
services. The government’s approach seems to give priority to financial pressures driven by extreme circumstances over
the quality of patient care.
“The DHB has been under intense, sustained pressure following the devastating earthquakes in the region and the
Government needs to make more effort to acknowledge that. The impact of those quakes appears to have been
under-estimated in Wellington. Government recognised the heroism of Canterbury health professionals when the earthquakes
occurred. But it is not appreciating their heroism in holding patient services together in the lengthy aftermath.”
While Christchurch has begun the long process of rebuilding its infrastructure and services, health professionals there
are shouldering very large workloads to meet the demand for mental health treatment and support, and other services,
says Mr Powell.
“Keep in mind that following the earthquakes the DHB was dealing with 200 damaged buildings, 7500 damaged hospital rooms
and 1000 displaced staff, in addition to all of the disruption to its various services.
“The government has a good population based funding formula for our public health system but it does not recognise the
sustained effects of a devastating earthquake. This includes much poverty, increased patient needs, communities
continuing to grapple with the ongoing impact, new workers helping with the rebuild not enrolled with local general
practitioners but needing hospital care, and outdated addresses due to housing damage.”
Mr Powell says the Government needs to focus on better understanding the long-term damage and destruction of the
earthquakes in Canterbury, which is not a quick, easy thing to get over, and also on improving the relationship between
the DHB and the Ministry of Health. Its approach needs to be supportive, not threatening.
ENDS