Health board falls short of targets

BY SARAH CODDINGTON

Waitemata District Health Board scored poorly in two areas of a Health Ministry health target report.

The board did not perform well on two of the government targets – shorter stays for patients in hospital emergency departments and helping patients quit smoking.

The report, based on the first quarter of the financial year, showed 61 percent of patients in the Waitemata board area were admitted, discharged or transferred within six hours.

This percentage was the lowest out of 21 boards in the country.

The government target was 95 percent.

Chief operating officer Graham Dyer says its performance in the emergency department reflects long-standing problems with delays and overcrowding within the emergency department at North Shore Hospital.

"Our new Lakeview development, already funded, under construction and due for completion in 2010, includes a completely redesigned emergency department and separate 50-bed assessment and diagnostic unit," says Mr Dyer.

He says the new unit will address the current issues and help cope with North Shore’s growing population.

But the board did achieve 3434 elective surgical discharges for the first quarter of the financial year. This was 10 percent above the government’s target.

It also did well in working towards achieving better diabetes and cardiovascular services.

The board was 2 percent short of the 85 percent target for childhood immunisation but achieved the target for getting Pacific Island children immunised.

The board also met the target of 100 percent of cancer patients needing radiation treatment to have it within six weeks.

Waitemata works closely with the Auckland board, provider of this service to Waitemata people.

The board performed poorly in a quit smoking campaign that aims to give hospitalised smokers advice to quit smoking. Waitemata board scored 5 percent while the expected target was 90 percent.

It was the second lowest result in the country.

The data only represented information collected in September.

Mr Dyer says it was mainly due to technical issues around accurately collecting data.

"We are giving more patients the advice but are having difficulties recording it properly."

He says they are making it simpler for medical staff to record the information.

- © Fairfax NZ News