Hawke’s Bay DHB improves health target results

Hawke’s Bay District Health Board improves health target results

Hawke’s Bay District Health Board topped the second quarter Health Targets, released today, with its immunisation rates and bettered its performance across the board in all areas except cancer wait times where it continued to meet the 100 percent target.

The DHB bettered the immunisation target of 85 percent with 91 percent of two year olds being fully immunised; improved its results in Emergency Department (ED) wait times, access to elective surgery, helping smokers to quit and in its diabetes and cardiovascular services – and stayed the same, 100 percent, for cancer patients waiting for treatment within six weeks.

Chief executive Kevin Snee said while the DHB was ranked 21 out of the 21 DHBs for improved access to elective surgery, its performance was better than in the last quarter and the public should see a more substantial improvement in the next quarter.

ED wait times had also improved from 73 percent of people being seen within six hours to 78 percent, in this quarter.

This ED result would also substantially improve in the next quarter and the department was currently tracking at around 90 percent, and last week recorded 98 percent and 100 percent compliance on consecutive days, Dr Snee said.

“What achieving these targets is really about - is giving the people of Hawke’s Bay more services and better quality care.

“Staff throughout the health sector are working hard to ensure that; more children are immunised to prevent infectious diseases, more patients are helped to stop smoking to prevent respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, more patients are treated for cancer more quickly to ensure that they have a greater likelihood of survival, more patients are given surgery to ensure that their pain and discomfort is eased more quickly, patients are treated more quickly in ED to improve the outcome of their care, and that there is more effective management of patients with diabetes and the risk of heart disease to prevent future ill health and complications.”

“While we have seen some positive results this quarter we will need to work hard to deliver all of the targets. We must however, see their achievement as only the beginning of improving services in Hawke’s Bay – delivering the targets is base camp not the summit.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media