Canterbury meets 5 out of 6 Health Targets
Canterbury DHB chief executive David Meates attributes Canterbury DHB’s high achievement in the latest National Health
targets, to the extraordinary people working in the local health system.
Today the final quarter four Health Target results were released and the Canterbury DHB is one of only three DHBs to
achieve five out of the six health targets set by the Ministry of Health. None of the twenty new Zealand DHBs achieved
all six of the targets. Health targets are a set of national performance measures specifically designed to improve the
performance of health services and they reflect significant public and government priorities and provide a focus for
action.
The only target not achieved by Canterbury DHB was Shorter Stays in ED in June. The target is to have 95 percent of
patients admitted, transferred and discharged from the emergency departments within six hours. Canterbury achieved 94.4
percent of the target. “Given the huge pressures that our health system has been under, including extremely busy general
practice after-hour services and the highest emergency department presentation days in Canterbury’s history, the focus
on ensuring that patient flow has been maintained has been outstanding. Our health system is full of extraordinary
people who turn up every day to do the very best for our community,” David Meates says.
Data show that across Canterbury, 80 percent of people who present to the Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department are
admitted, transferred and discharged in under four hours. From April 2016 to March 2017, the average time spent in ED
was 2.7 hours per person. This makes each ED attendance approximately 50 minutesshorter than the national benchmarked
average. It also allows for 23,087 more patients to be assessed and treated in our ED using the same resources.
Canterbury DHB was ranked in the top four for delivering faster cancer treatment, increased immunisation and raising
healthy kids. The other targets it achieved were for better help for smokers to quit and improved access to elective
surgery.
“It’s by asking questions that challenge the way we do things that ensures we keep making our health services more
efficient, and better for our patients,” Meates added.
More information about the national health targets can be found here www.health.govt.nz/healthtargets
ENDS