Taranaki District Health Board Health Targets 2010-2011 - Third Quarter

26 May 2011

The third quarter health targets of 2010-2011 have been released by the Ministry of Health. 
Ministry of Health - Health Targets website

The Taranaki health sector continues working towards the targets, which are indicative of a wider range of services and efforts in priority areas.

“Whilst we are delighted where we have improved, we are committed to working towards achieving all of the targets, while still recognising there are areas for improvement,” Planning and Funding, and Population Health General Manger Sandra Boardman says.

She says a focus on the six key areas is important to continue to improve health, reduce inequalities and improve the quality of health services for local people. “The targets provide a useful indication of how we are doing.”

The health targets are:

1) Shorter Stays in ED. Target 95%, Achieved 96%
We are delighted to achieve better than the target of 95% of patients seen in ED were admitted or transferred from the ED within six hours. This has been an enormous effort by the Emergency department and the whole hospital approach. This achievement is well received by our team as we focus on the ongoing work to improve the flow of patients in our acute pathway work.

2) Improved Access to Elective Surgery: Target 100%, Achieved 105%
Taranaki residents received higher than planned levels of elective surgery – 105% for the quarter – with 3,199 people receiving elective surgery across all providers. This is a very pleasing result but we will continue to be vigilant in our efforts to maintain our target.

3) Shorter Waits for Cancer Treatment: Target 100%, Achieved 100%
We plan to maintain our collaborative relationship with MidCentral DHB to maintain the 100% cancer waiting time target.

4) Increased Immunisation: Target 90%, Achieved 90%
Increasing immunisation rates are a priority in order to reduce the incidence of preventable disease in our community. Taranaki continued to meet it’s target in this area. The DHB is working closely with the PHOs in Taranaki to educate and inform the community on the benefits and importance of immunisation.

5) Better Help for Smokers to Quit: Target 90%, Achieved 61%
Whilst the overall result for Quarter three result was a little disappointing, there was an improvement from the last quarter which was 59% and this has continued with April and May looking closer to the 90% target. An online learning tool has been made available for staff and a dedicated smokefree liaison position has been implemented.

6) Better Diabetes and Cardiovascular: Achieved 94%
Taranaki DHB tops the country in this target and the DHB continues to support the PHOs in ensuring there are services in place to meet this target. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease are among the main causes of ill health in Taranaki.

Last updated: Monday, October 14, 2013