HBDHB celebrates becoming a Teaching DHB

13 February 2006:

HBDHB celebrates becoming a Teaching District Health Board

Today marks the start of a week of celebrations for Hawke’s Bay District Health Board as it becomes a Teaching District Health Board. The week of activities will culminate with an official launch at 5:30pm on Friday 17 February, where the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Helen Clark will speak. She will be joined by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr Michael Cullen.

Chief executive, Chris Clarke, said Hawke’s Bay has a growing reputation as an innovative DHB, and being selected to become a Teaching DHB was a significant achievement.

“We are working closely with the University of Otago’s Wellington School of Medicine, to develop a curriculum to enable medical students to undertake part of their study in Hawke’s Bay. The Eastern Institute of Technology is also involved in the venture and it is planned that they will be provide accommodation and academic support for trainee doctors in addition to their current programmes.

“While details of the training are still being finalised, it is likely to include a strong primary and rural component. The trend is towards more and more care being delivered in community settings by multi-disciplinary teams,” Mr Clarke said.

He said the first intake of students would be fourth-year medical students, who would stay in Hawke’s Bay to complete four-week training modules. It is anticipated that eventually up to 144 medical students would study in Hawke’s Bay each year.

“We will be ensuring these students have a positive experience while in Hawke’s Bay, in the hope they will be keen to come back to work in the region once they’ve graduated,” Chris Clarke said.

Mr Clarke said the Teaching DHB concept was much broader than providing training opportunities for medical students. “We are becoming a teaching and learning organisation which will provide opportunities for undergraduate medicine, undergraduate and postgraduate nursing, allied health professional education and the development of leadership and management competencies for the health sector.

“We are already working on some innovative training initiatives,” Mr Clarke said. One such scheme is a joint venture with the Ministry of Social Development to fund a pilot training programme for homecare workers. The pilot will see 16 sole parents who are currently beneficiaries, selected to begin a new training programme. Once they graduate, they will be offered ongoing employment as homecare workers in Hawke’s Bay.

“They will start full time work on 27 February, and start training for their National Certificate in Community Support Services (Foundation Skills) at the same time. It is hoped that some may ultimately go on to complete their nursing training at EIT,” he said.

Mr Clarke said the pilot programme would help boost the workforce and improve the lives of older people living in their own homes and at the same time provide employment opportunities for people who were currently on benefits. “It’s a win-win situation which is good news for Hawke’s Bay people,” Chris Clarke said.

“There are a number of other initiatives underway which fall under the Teaching DHB umbrella. These include: the RMO Resident Medical Officer training carried out at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, a range of in-house management training courses provided for DHB and NGO (Non-Government Organisation) staff working across the health community. There is a range of training providing continuing medical education for GPs, as well as courses for practice nurses, and other health providers.

A range of regular inter-agency groups have been established to share learning opportunities and work together on health improvement. Relationships with medical colleges and tertiary teaching institutions are being strengthened as HBDHB looks to develop joint learning and training initiatives. Nurses are encouraged and supported to continue their education with many working towards becoming nurse practitioners in a range of specialties. Hawke’s Bay DHB is fostering a continuous learning environment for all staff.

ENDS

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