Top 5 Issues

1. Sufficient community health services to enable full enrolment of DHB resident population, while avoiding overload
2. Community health services with access at minimal cost, for children, the elderly, those with disability or mental illness
3. 24hr/day, 7 days a week health services available within all our communities
4. Expansion of services available at Kenepuru Hospital
5. Continuous improvement in performance and quality of DHB hospital services
   
   (see Insights below)

Personal Profile

Born in Wellington and my professional career has been in Wellington.

I have extensive experience across the health spectrum.

I was a paediatrician and child health specialist at Wellington Hospital for 15 years after medical school and professional development in Dunedin, Melbourne, Perth and London.

In the 1990s I become involved in processes reviewing and revising our health system, working as a consultant and specialist medical advisor to Regional Health Authorities. This lead on to health advisor to Deputy Prime-Minister Jim Anderton who was Associate Minister of Health in the Labour-Alliance Government, with participation in development of the health statutes that govern our current health system – as well as the establishment of Primary Health Organisations (PHOs).

In recent years I have been managing director of Corporate HealthCare, a company providing occupational and corporate health services and I consult for Dominion Clinic.

I am a member of the national Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee and the Multi-Region Ethics Committee.

 

Insights

A DHB’s primary responsibility is to ensure the provision of health services for its resident population.

My priority – “that appropriate health care must be accessible to everybody when required, regardless of where a person or family resides or their financial circumstances”,
is wholly consistent; it’s a matter of timing – but then timing is critical.

Timely intervention alleviates suffering and restores health; early treatment avoids or reduces the risk of complications. This strategy is also ‘cost efficient’.
Immediate management of patients at community health centres or early referral to specialist services actually saves money.  Hospital attendance may well be avoided or hospital stay, if necessary, shortened.

While the clinical focus of my career has been the health and well being of children, I am also particularly concerned for the elderly, those with disability or mental illness. These people are the most vulnerable members of our community. They are frequently the least resourced; yet they often have high needs. They usually cannot afford health insurance. Their health, well being and quality of life often depend on access to community health care and availability of public hospital services. Lack of service or delayed intervention compound problems and then require more $’s to fix.

I am well aware of the requirements for hospital services, but better value is achieved by community services meeting more health needs. The secondary gain from this approach is more resources are freed up to then be available for elective hospital services, home help and residential care. The more health care that can be delivered in timely fashion in the community, the more effective and efficient our health system will be.

Such an approach promotes and results in “winners”, rather than “losers”.
Its focus is access to services, health maintenance and early intervention.
It’s also financially prudent, provided contracts are rigorous and well monitored.

I believe that with my experience and understanding of health issues and services, I can contribute to an incoming Board resolving current problems, as well as the contentious issues that will arise over the next 3 years.