Health board ‘on road to success’
Despite a ballooning deficit, the Southern District Health Board is working towards success, the medical director of patient services says.
Speaking at a Southern District Health Board committee meeting yesterday, Richard Bunton said the road to success was paved with failures.
‘‘We are being told we’re not doing a great job. That’s not what I’m seeing,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve got no right to say we didn’t know we had a deficit. [But] what successful people know is . . . you’ve got to fail a few times to succeed.’’
Everyone involved with the board needed to work together to achieve the board’s goals, he said.
‘‘What is the Southern District Health Board’s dream? We need to be talking about the same things. We’ll achieve success by sticking to the plan. We can’t do that when there’s a crisis.’’
He was adamant the focus was not about dipping into taxpayers’ money, but rather seeing a positive result.
Nursing and midwifery executive director Leanne Samuel said everyone needed to be on the same page as they aimed for the health board’s goals.
‘‘Everyone needs to understand why we are committed to the common vision going forward.’’
The health board would begin saving money when the system was refined, she said. ‘‘We are one DHB and one community.’’
However, board member Tuari Potiki said he did not see an end in sight.
‘‘The primary purpose is to deliver great health care. But I can’t put a framework around it, it’s still a concept to me,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not that I disagree, I’m in support of what’s been delivered, but what I struggle with . . . is how long [will it take to succeed]?’’
In April a document leaked to Labour Party health spokeswoman Annette King said the health board’s financial performance had deteriorated throughout 2013-14 and most of 2014-15.
Other matters discussed at the meeting:
About 54 of 85 GP practices in the southern region have indicated they will be part of zero fees for people aged 13 and under. The Ministry of Health will fund the Southern District Health Board for the scheme and will use the same contracting approach used for free under six-year-olds. The ministry has also allocated $474,704 to the health board for after-hours visits.
Six southern GP practices have been recruited for an influenza surveillance programme to monitor and track influenza-like illnesses. The aim of the programme is to improve knowledge of the incidence and distribution of influenza in the community, enable early detection of epidemics within the community and provide an indication of the predominant strains of influenza.