People visiting Hutt Hospital’s emergency department have experienced shorter waiting times with 10,309 out of
10,895 people admitted, discharged or transferred within the six hour national health target.
The Ministry of Health has released the latest health target results today which show Hutt Valley District Health Board’s (DHB) performance against the shorter stays in emergency department target has increased by five per cent, and the DHB has achieved the national target of 95 per cent.
Health targets are a set of six national performance measures specifically designed to improve the performance of health services and are published quarterly, the last period being from January to March 2015.
Hutt Valley DHBs performance against the improved access to elective surgery, faster cancer treatment, better help
for smokers to quit, and more heart and diabetes checks targets has also improved this quarter.
The targets also show more Wairarapa people had access to elective surgery since the last quarter. Greater numbers are also getting help to quit smoking.
Wairarapa DHB surpassed the 100 per cent elective surgery target by ten per cent. There were 470 elective surgery discharges during this period – 30 ahead of plan. In the year to date, the DHB has delivered 131 more elective surgery discharges than the plan of 1,352. This represents 56 more discharges than during the same period last year.
Wairarapa DHB also met the national targets for shorter stays in emergency departments and immunisation levels. Over the last three months 3,982 people (96 per cent) were admitted, discharged or transferred from the Emergency Department within the target of six hours. Some 95 per cent of eight month olds were immunised during the quarter.
“These are great achievements and reflect not only the hard work of our emergency department staff but also the entire staff at both hospitals and our primary care colleagues,” says Ian McPherson, interim chief executive.
“Targets highlight how well the entire health system is working. If one piece isn’t functioning well, for example patients coming to the emergency department instead of going to see their GP, it has a flow on effect for the entire system,” says Dr McPherson.
A copy of the latest health target results is available on the Ministry of Health website:
www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/health-targets/how-my-dhb-performing/how-my-dhb-performing-2014-15
