Excellent result for West Coast national health targets
Media Release 1 September 2011
Excellent result
for West Coast meeting national health
targets
“West Coast
residents are receiving very good service from their DHB in
the latest health target results released yesterday,” says
DHB CEO David Meates.
The six health targets are
national health performance measures, set by the Ministry of
Health. They are designed to improve the performance of
health services and provide a focus for action for
DHBs.
The West Coast continues to lead the country’s
20 DHBs with its performance in the Shorter stays in
Emergency Departments target.
This target measures
the way in which the hospital system can process the
subsequent patient admissions and discharges as well as the
time taken for patients to be seen in the Emergency
Department.
“Elective surgery procedures exceeded the annual Improved Access to Elective Surgery target by seven percent. Given that there was also a recorded increase of more than 20% in acute surgery this result is a tremendous achievement for West Coast residents”, David Meates says.
“The DHB performance in the Increased
Immunisation target has improved although is still short of
the national target. Further analysis of the figures
indicates that 97% of eligible two-year olds living on the
West Coast (that have not declined or opted off the National
Immunisation Register) have been immunised – this is a
great result. The West Coast continues to have a significant
number of young children who are not immunised because of
the wishes of their parents.
“Over the past few
years we have put significant effort into determining the
smoking status of DHB patients and offering them assistance
to quit. For part of this quarter the DHB was without a
smokefree coordinator, resulting in a decrease in the number
of smokers given cessation advice. Now the position has been
filled there will be a renewed emphasis on ensuring smokers
are given advice on how to quit.
“The Better
Diabetes and Cardiovascular Services target has declined
slightly. More patients were seen by primary practices
however still further patients have been identified as
requiring diabetes management. Diabetes patients are
encouraged to take up their free annual diabetes check-up to
ensure good management of their condition.
“The
four-week target, in Shorter waits for Cancer Treatment was
achieved for all patients. Radiation treatment for West
Coast cancer patients is normally carried out in
Christchurch.
“The dedication of health
professionals on the West Coast makes a significant
contribution to improving the health status of people living
here,” says Dr Paul McCormack, Chair of the West Coast
DHB.
Ends