Waikato DHB celebrates its achievements

Chief operating officer Jan Adams likened having no patients waiting longer than six months for treatment at Waikato District Health Board to "landing a jumbo jet on a pinhead".

As the 30 June deadline got ever closer, she revised that to an Airbus A380. She needn't have worried as Waikato DHB comfortably exceeded the elective surgical target of 12,704 operations by 5 per cent.

That's not the only good news for staff and patients. There has been a string of achievements in the financial year from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012 which provides a snapshot of what has happened in the provider arm, Health Waikato.

"It's happened while we continue to work with the major site redevelopment underway," she told staff this week.

"We know the next three years hold many challenges and we believe that by working together, celebrating our milestones and focussing on streamlining activity, we can make it happen."

The achievements include:
• Exceeding the elective surgical target by 5%
• Significantly improving our performance against the six hour target
• Consistently meeting the radiotherapy wait time target
• Assisting in meeting the immunisation target
• Reducing our average length of stay
• Reducing the number of long wait patients (over six months) to zero
• Celebrating no falls in the older person's service for three consecutive months
• Implementing the time for change project and opening the ACCIS centre
• Continuing to roll out and improve our performance in the productive ward series
• Implementing the allied health service
• Completing the oral health in schools project
• Completing the laboratory upgrade
• Opening the Acute Services Building
• Decanting and refurbishing three wards
• Improving theatre utilisation
• Preparing for the go live of the Meade Clinical Centre phase one
ENDS

About Waikato District Health Board and Health Waikato:

Waikato DHB is responsible for planning, funding and providing quality health and disability support services for the 372,865 people living in the Waikato DHB region. It has an annual turnover of $1.2 billion and employs more than 6000 people.

Health Waikato is the DHB’s main provider of hospital and health services with an annual budget of more than $701 million and 5238 staff. It has six groups across five hospital sites, three primary birthing units, two continuing care facilities and 20 community bases offering a comprehensive range of primary, secondary and tertiary health services.

A wide range of independent providers deliver other Waikato DHB-funded health services - including primary health, pharmacies and community laboratories.