18 October 2016

The Urgent Care District Group (UCDG) is part of the MDHB Clinical Networks responsible for district-wide quality improvement. The group is calling for nominations to the following positions:

• Urgent Care Physician
• Pharmacist
• Maori
• Aged Residential Care

If you have a passion for improving health services for people requiring urgent care and have some relevant skills please consider nominating yourself to join this group. You can also nominate someone else if they have the passion, interest and skills.

Nominations close Thursday November 17^th 2016

To apply please complete a nomination form. Nomination forms and more information is available from Kirsty.Dunlop@centralpho.org.nz; 06 353-1754.

18 July 2016

The Cancer District Group (CDG) is part of the MidCentral DHB Clinical Networks responsible for district-wide quality improvement.

The Group is calling for nominations to the following position:

• Consumer representative(s)

If you have a passion for improving health services for people with cancer and have used cancer health services yourself or supported someone through their cancer journey, please consider nominating yourself to join this Group. You can also nominate someone else if they have the passion, experience and interest.

Nominations close Friday 12th August 2016.

For more information or to apply please click here or contact Andrea Nicholls at andrea.nicholls@midcentraldhb.govt.nz or 06 3509159 extn 7574.

24 February 2016

The Long Term Conditions District Group (LTCDG) is part of the MidCentral DHB Clinical Networks responsible for district-wide quality improvement.

The group is calling for nominations to the following positions:

• General Practitioner
• Consumer
• Inter-sectoral
• Pharmacy
• NGO

If you have a passion for improving health services for people with long term conditions and have some relevant networks and skills please consider nominating yourself to join this group. You can also nominate someone else if they have the passion and interest.

Nominations close Friday March 18th 2016.

To apply and for more information please complete a nomination form available from Kirsty.Dunlop@centralpho.org.nz or by phoning 06 353-1754.

8 December 2015

Central PHO has introduced Dashboard© an IT based decision support tool. Dashboard integrates into the MedTech Patient Management System making it easier for general practice staff to check which health interventions and screening activities (with a particular emphasis on those aligned to the National Health Targets) are outstanding for each patient. The interventions and activities are specific to each individual.

The tool uses a ‘traffic light’ concept in support of good clinical practice, prompting clinicians to ensure that key measurements are obtained and therefore key interventions provided.

Dashboard shows a summary of each intervention with traffic light like coloring indicating the status of the measurement i.e. red = needs updating/overdue; yellow = alert status e.g. current smoker; green = up to date.

We believe that it is important for people to be aware of their own health measurements and be proactive in maintaining their wellbeing. From research we have learned that what matters to patients can often be related to:

• Feeling informed and being given options
• Being involved in care and being able to ask questions

Encouraging people to be informed and self-managing is the drive behind this “Ask to see your Dashboard” promotion currently being promoted through General Practice, Community Pharmacies, NGOs and other community settings.

The information on the poster is relevant to and targets our MidCentral DHB population.

We ask that you display the pamphlets, encourage people visiting your service to take one away with them and to ask to see their dashboard when they next visit their GP or Practice Nurse.

We acknowledge that Christmas is just around the corner and that this is a busy time of year for Community Organisations. We thank you in anticipation of your ongoing support for this promotion.

Media Release: 23 October 2014

Central PHO CEO Chiquita Hansen and Te Rununga o Raukawa General Manager Ana Winiata met today to work through the issues raised at a recent community meeting.

“We understand the community frustration about having a brand new building but still not being able to get appointments promptly and we really are working hard behind the scenes to get the new service appropriately staffed and running efficiently. It has been a big project with many staff working long hours” said Ms Hansen.

Ms Winiata and Ms Hansen outlined the overall plan for Te Waiora as a community hub of health and related social services. This is starting to bear fruit with the DHB Community Nurses, the B4 School Checks and other services now collocating with the General Practice. “There is a lot more of this development to come, and the Te Waiora General Practice is now engaged in a major development plan that will unfold over the next 12 months”, continued Ms Hansen.

More funding is not necessarily required. A lot of additional funding already made available to help get Te Waiora off the ground. There is the philanthropic support of the building funders, Horowhenua District Council gifted the land and local businesspeople Larry and Jane Ellison and others financed the building. MidCentral DHB, Central PHO, Te Rununga o Raukawa and even the Ministry of Health have contributed to the start-up budget or to ongoing additional financial support. “We are immensely grateful for all the additional financial support that we have got for Te Waiora, and whilst impressed that our community is willing to go in to bat for us to get access to even more funding, we suggest that this issue be parked for the time being, to give us some space to get on with completing our Te Waiora development plan,” said Ms Winiata.

The role of Primary Health Care Nursing is changing rapidly as we move into the 21st century. We are very fortunate that MidCentral DHB has a strong commitment to developing Nursing capability in our District. We have the highest ratio of Nurse Practitioners in NZ. These are Nurses with a Master’s degree and prescribing rights for defined drugs – they are in many respects as highly trained in their field as a Doctor. We have one Nurse Practitioner fully employed at Te Waiora. We also have some very capable Nurses on our team.

“General Practice is now very much a team effort”, said Ms Hansen. “I understand that people would love their family Doctor to pop around for a chat and a cup of tea, but nowhere in New Zealand is that a reality now. Our Doctors are an increasingly scarce resource and it is important that we use them effectively. This does mean that Primary Health Care Nurses must pick up a lot more of the workload. They are trained to involve the Doctor when that really is required. When our staff suggest an appointment with a nurse is appropriate they are doing that based on their training and experience, and the protocols we have put in place for them to work to. We need our community to support us in ensuring that we can all get the best possible result from the health care team at Te Waiora – it can’t be all about seeing the Doctor”, said Ms Hansen.

Te Waiora Implementation Project Manager Angela Johnson said GP recruitment issues are prevalent across most of rural New Zealand, and a that more money alone won’t resolve this. “Actually we are doing quite well in comparison to some rural locations with the number of loyal GPs that we have retained at Te Waiora and our recruitment will have us up to the planned GP staffing ratio by March next year, well before the next winter season. In the meantime we are using Locum GPs and are deploying more Nursing resource into the centre.

The General Practitioner to enrolled patient ratio varies a lot around the country, dependant on the ability to recruit, the strength of the local Primary Healthcare Nursing team and the presence of Nurse Practitioners. “We are planning to have a high performance team at Te Waiora, with GPs, Primary Healthcare Nurses, Nurse Practitioners and other allied health professionals working together very collaboratively”, said Mrs Johnson.

“There are some things that our people can do to help Te Waiora succeed”, continued Mrs Johnson. “These include not waiting until the last minute to phone for their script renewals, where possible planning for healthcare in advance and being patient about getting appointments for non-urgent matters. It really is important to discuss their situation openly with the triage Nurse on the phone so that the Nurse can assess how urgently the person needs to be seen. This is becoming standard practice right around the country, and is not a new development at Te Waiora. If something really is an urgent matter we will make sure people are seen promptly by the most appropriate clinician”, said Mrs Johnson.

Media Release: October 2014

Information for patients and caregivers just got better with the launch of patient pathways on the Central Primary Health Organisation website. The pathways outline the steps used by local health professionals in the diagnosis and management of health conditions. Access to this information will enable patients and their families/whānau to be better informed about what to expect and to have greater confidence in the care provided to them.

The patient pathways have been developed as part of the Collaborative Clinical Pathways programme initiated in 2011. These clinical pathways provide health professionals throughout the MidCentral district with patient-centred, evidence-based best practice care. The pathways have been developed locally by clinicians working both in the community and within the hospital. John Hannifin, a consumer representative, has worked alongside clinicians to adapt the pathways for patients. John comments “Patients are always sharing their information with clinicians; in this case the clinicians are sharing the information about how they work with their patients”.

Patients and caregivers can expect to find information in the pathways that has not been widely available to date. For example, the Gastroenteritis in Children (Stomach Bug) patient pathway alerts caregivers to the free hydration fluids (pedialyte) service and advice available from most pharmacies. The Eczema in Children patient pathway refers to the MidCentral DHB’s Children’s Eczema Service. Patients can also see some of the time periods for trying different treatments and when they can expect to be referred for specialist treatment.

“The patient pathways enable patients and their families/whānau to understand the steps used in the diagnosis and management of their health conditions”, says Dr Delamy Keall, Clinical Lead of the Collaborative Clinical Pathways programme. “The patient pathways align exactly with the collaborative clinical pathways available to all doctors, nurses, pharmacists, primary health providers, and other health professionals in the MidCentral district.”

The patient pathways are publicly available on the Central PHO website at www.centralpho.org.nz. Select ‘Clinical Pathways’ and then ‘Patient Information’. The pathways can be printed. Links to other useful resources are also provided. The website will be regularly updated as other patient pathways are finalised.