Patient Flow Taskforce News Today

Southern DHB chief executive Chris Fleming says there are some tough statements in the report that reviewed the board's management and hospital services.

Robyn Edie/Stuff Southern District Health Board Chief medical officer Dr Nigel Millar, pictured here at Southland Hospital, says staff have been raising practical suggestions – like running blood tests earlier in the day – to move patients through the hospital faster. The Southland Hospital emergency department sees 86 per cent more patients than Dunedin, despite the former serving a population 46 per cent smaller. The hospital’s overstretched emergency department is one of the aspects a...

Millar said burnout was a real challenge in health services, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. “It [..] is accentuated when people feel unable to meet the needs of patients. This is then compounded when the organisation does not appear to understand or respond to the pressure people are under,” he said. Noting the boards recent challenges meeting elective surgery needs, Millar said a new Patient Flow Taskforce would work with clinicians to understand the problems, and s...