About Waikato District Health Board
The Waikato District Health Board... | |
- was established in 2001 as one of 21 district health boards across the country, to improve, promote and protect the health of people and communities, and reduce health disparities among population groups in its district.
- is governed by a board that is partly elected and partly appointed by the Minister of Health, and are responsible to the Minister of Health.
- directly employs more than 5000 doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and support staff.
- serves a population of more than 342,000 people, stretching from the northern tip of Coromandel Peninsula to south of Taumarunui, and from Raglan in the west to Waihi in the east. About 40% of its population lives in rural areas.
- has its own hospitals, community services, older persons and rehabilitation service, population health service and mental health & addiction services (collectively known as its provider arm Health Waikato).
- also funds and monitors (through contracts) a large number of other health and disability services that are delivered by independent providers such as GPs and practice nurses, rest homes, community laboratories, dentists, iwi health services, Pacific peoples’ health services, and many other non-government organisations and agencies. Of a total expenditure of $709 million last financial year, 58% was spent on Health Waikato services, and the rest was spent on funding services by independent providers.
Priorities & planning
Waikato DHB’s 10-year strategic plan identifies five health priorities.
In addition, it identifies four population priorities – groups where there are disparities in access to health, in health status and in health outcomes compared to the rest of the Waikato population.
Health priorities
- Heart disease and stroke
- Cancer
- Smoking-related lung disease
- Diabetes
- Severe mental illness and addictions
Population priorities
- People who live in areas of low socio-economic status
- Maori
- Older persons
- Pacific people
Every three years the Waikato District Health Board reviews and revises its 10-year
District Strategic Plan (DSP).
And each year the DHB produces a
District Annual Plan (DAP). This document acts as a map to keep the DHB on track.
The
District Annual Plan (DAP) sets out clear targets for the financial year – and how these will be achieved. Often this involves implementing specific project plans that have already been developed, perhaps in collaboration with other agencies and organisations. In other cases, the targets will be met by new initiatives and the creation of new funding streams.
The plan also addresses the specific target areas that the Minister of Health or
Ministry of Health have highlighted.
This planning feeds into the operational side of the Waikato DHB, through its own provider arm (
Health Waikato) and also through collaboration and contracts with other service providers.
For more information check out
Planning & Funding.
Health Waikato
Health
Waikato is the DHB's provider division that operates a comprehensive
range of primary, secondary and tertiary services. It also provides
tertiary and trauma services to the central North Island regional
population of 800,000.
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The majority of Waikato DHB's 5200 staff are employed in the Health Waikato division providing an extensive range of inpatient and community-based health services across critical care, surgery, medicine, oncology, women's health, child and adolescent health, older persons and rehabilitation, mental health, population health and related support services.
Facilities include:
Hamilton campus
- Waikato Hospital (600 bed teaching hospital)
- Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre (100 bed acute mental health facility)
District Hospitals
Continuing Care and Maternity facilities
| Community bases
- Ngaruawahia
- Te Aroha
- Huntly
- Hamilton
- Te Awamutu
- Cambridge
- Te Kuiti
- Taumarunui
- Kawhia
- Raglan
- Whangamata
- Whitianga
- Tairua/Pauanui
- Coromandel
- Thames
- Paeroa
- Waihi
- Morrinsville
- Matamata
- Tokoroa
- Putaruru
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Getting involved...
Community Health Forums
Community Health Forums are made up of local people representing
specific geographical regions.
They will be responsible for supporting
and advising the Waikato District Health Board about local health
issues, activities and priorities for their community. They are also a
mechanism for ensuring communities are kept involved in and informed of
DHB activities and issues.
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