Greta is the most patient, caring and kind nurse I have ever come across. She is a strong advocate for her patients. She takes the time to not only provide medical care for her patients, but she takes the time to provide the human touches as well, offering support to patients and their families, cups of tea and food, warm blankets and those extra touches. If myself or any of my family was unwell and ended up in hospital I would be so happy if Greta was our nurse! Greta does all of this day in and day out. Not only does she provide outstanding care to her patients, but she is always there to provide help and assistance to her colleagues. Wherever and whenever she can she is offering to help others out. She is the kind of nurse we all aspire to be, and if we were all like her this world would be a wonderful place. Thank you Greta for the sunshine you bring to AED every time you work.

CEO Award

Fit for the Future| Watch the video

When people look for help regarding their wellbeing, it should be both easy and accessible. They shouldn’t need to go to unfamiliar places, or have to wait for an appointment with someone that speaks to them in clinical terms and jargon.

Fit for the future aims to eliminate these challenges. As a project it brings together people and resources that can provide support, and ensure that there is a connection to the local community, services are easy to navigate, doctors speak in every day terms and in a language understood by the general population and there is support for our community’s social and mental health needs.

This targeted assistance ultimately enhances the patient experience, and allows the medical practitioners to provide the best possible level of care, through an increased level of mutual understanding.

Feedback from both staff and patients has been overwhelmingly positive, and in addition the improved access, reach and overall effectiveness, has created opportunities for significant cost savings.

Team: Camille Gheerbrant, Anna Newton, Brendan Short, Sarah Appleton-Dyer, Sarah Andrews Trish Palmer, Ruth Williams, Johnny O'Connell, Sue Hallwright, David Codyre, Raewyn Allan, Anne Bateman, Jill Moffat, Jane Petraska, Bev Monahan, River Paton, Karla Bergquist, Kristin Good

Finalists:

Kāinga Ora Healthy Homes: Home is where your heart is: Nicky Cranshaw and team  | Watch the videoteam

Connecting and supporting patients with SCAD and takutsabo syndrome: Cathy Gasparini and team   | Watch the videoteam

Excellence in Clinical Care

Valuing the time of our live kidney donors  |  Watch the videodonors

When people agree to become a kidney donor they were admitted to hospital the day prior to surgery. After talking to some of our donors, they said they didn’t feel valued, they felt they spent excessive time waiting and they had a poor night’s sleep before surgery.  They also didn’t like being away from whānau, and felt that they were taking up a hospital bed that they thought was needed for a sick patient.

The transplant team wanted to deliver a better patient experience so introduced day of admission surgery for kidney donors. This has led to a decrease in admission to theatre from an average of about 21 hours to just under two hours. All donors have said this has been a positive experience for them and they definitely prefer this rather than being admitted the day prior to surgery.

This project is a great example of delivering on our values with live kidney donors, enhancing their experience with the added bonus of improving the way we use Auckland DHB clinical resources.

Team: Karyn Lowe, Paul Manley, Ian Dittmer, Helen Pilmore, Michael Collins, Stephen Munn, Helen Whitehouse, Ann Rudolph, Karen Lovelock, Carl MuthuKumaraswamy, Peter Johnston, Sanjay Pandanaboyana, Martin Misur

Finalists:

Orthopaedic patients getting the right care sooner: Desiree McCracken and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Reducing surgical site infections: John Boy Jerry Csapo-Camu and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Optimising Acute Patient Workflow in Emergency CT: Charlotte Cooper and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Excellence in Research

Intrauterine insemination: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial  |  Watch the videotrial

This is the first clinical trial of intrauterine insemination (IUI) with clomiphene citrate to show benefit when compared to expectant management. Two previous studies did not show benefit as they either did not use ovarian stimulation or did not include women who were truly infertile.

Women allocated to three cycles of IUI had more births than those allocated to expectant management (31 of 101 [31%] vs. 9 of 100 [9%], P = 0.0003; RR, 3·41; 95% CI, 1·71 to 6·79). There were two sets of twins, both in the IUI group. The number of women who would need to have three cycles of IUI to result in one additional live birth is five.

These results offer hope to couples trying to conceive as IUI is a simpler treatment than IVF. We hope to show in the future that three cycles of IUI is similar to one completed cycle of IVF.

Team: Professor Cindy Farquhar, Dr Emily Liu, Sarah Armstrong, Nicola Arroll, Sarah Lensen, Julie Brown

Finalist:

Is it Necessary to Fast Before Cardiac Catheterisation? Sheila Bacus and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Excellence in Process and Systems Improvement

Improving the care of cellulitis  |  Watch the videocellulitis

Cellulitis (an acute spreading infection of the skin and tissue) places heavy demands on both clinical resources and patient time. In 2016, Cellulitis ranked second on the list of causes of avoidable hospitalisation for Auckland DHB.  Data suggested (amongst other changes) that if processes across the wards were more streamlined, with only those admitted who couldn’t be administered IV antibiotics in another setting, this would free up both bed space and patient time.

In December 2016 a three day ‘Rapid Improvement Event’ (RIE) brought together key stakeholders from all disciplines, to work on accelerating and implementing changes to the way Cellulitis is managed at Auckland DHB.

Collectively, the RIE team and their process changes resulted in: reduced hospital stay time for patients, significant cost avoidance of more than $800,000 annually, a 12% reduction in patients admitted to the wards, and a significant reduction in the use of IV antibiotics. An independent study by The University of Auckland was also carried out confirming these results.

On-going improvement processes are also in place to continue to review any more complex pathways, ensuring sustained accountability under the medical directorate Management Operating System Process (MOS).

Team: Paul Birch, Dr Stephen Ritchie, Dr Rupert Handy, Bret Vykopal, Julie Hislop, Karen Schimanski, Dr Helen Liley, Dr Jim Kriechbaum, Eamon Duffy, Dr Michael Puttick, Dr Sarah Bell, Dr Gregory Wiggill

Releasing Time to Care: Michelle Knox and team  |  Watch the videoteam

High Tech Imaging Client Centric Design Initiative in Primary Care: Alexandra Smart and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Best practice can work! A team approach to discharge planning: Andrew Jones and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Excellence in Community Health and Wellbeing

Diabetic foot ulcers are complex wounds that have a major long-term impact on the quality of a patient’s life. Ten out of every 100 people with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer sometime during their lifetime. A multi-disciplinary approach is shown to be effective in saving limbs and reducing the rate of major amputations.

A multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinic including a vascular surgeon, a registrar, nurse specialist, diabetes registrar, orthotist and podiatrist was established to ensure gold standard treatment of patients with foot ulcers. Since the clinic was introduced, the number of admissions and outpatient appointments to heal wounds has reduced.

Major limb amputation has reduced from 27 per cent to 3 per cent, while wound healing rates have increased from 69 per cent to 90 per cent.  This is has led to a big improvement in patient outcomes and has also reduced costs to the health system.

Team: Alicia Sutton, Venu Bhamidi, Michelle Garrett, Alexandra Noble-Beasley, Kara Hamilton, Shraddha Rasal, Sue Perrin, Andrea Connell, Steve York

Kāinga Ora Healthy Homes: Home is where your heart is: Nicky Cranshaw and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Increasing Community Immunity: Jean McQueen and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Orthopaedic patients getting the right care sooner: Desiree McCracken and team  |  Watch the videoteam

Excellence in the Workplace

Releasing Time to Care  |  Watch the videoCare

In 2009, nurses were spending approximately 35 per cent of their time with patients. The remainder was spent on non-direct care activities, e.g. administration and searching for equipment. This had the potential to lead to sub-optimal care, reduced patient experience and lower employee satisfaction. Releasing Time to Care was introduced to help deliver better quality of care for patients, improving both the patient and employee experience.

In 2018, the average direct care time is 58 per cent, with 51 wards and services on the programme. Overall there has been a 23 per cent increase in direct care - that equates to 175,000 additional hours spent with patients over a year. 

Releasing Time to Care has also enabled us to give patients, whānau and staff a voice on how they want to be taken care of and how we can make Auckland DHB a better place to work.

Team: Margaret Dotchin, Michelle Knox, Michelle Griffen, Erin Ward, Abbi Harwood-Tobin

Finalists:

To Thrive  |  Watch the videoThrive: Alex Pimm and team

Joy at Work: Harshna Mistry and team

askHR: Ash Ford and team

Individual Living our Values Award

Jan Curtis, Therapy Assistant

Jan works as a Therapy Assistant in the Musculoskeletal Team. She is the glue that holds the outpatient physiotherapy team together. She is quiet and unassuming but gets things done. Jan is very inclusive, and makes everyone she meets feel special and valued. 

Knowing that Jan is around and willing to go the extra mile, makes it a lot easier for the team. She is quick to identify when things aren’t going well and makes sure any issues are escalated appropriately; always a ready and able shoulder, for staff to use if needed. 

Jan is a key part of the knee replacement class. She knows all the patients who attend and is encouraging, genuinely caring about how they are doing.  A patient recently recognised Jan for her warmth and professionalism, and fondly referred to the team there as ‘Jan’s gang’. 

Finalists:

Emmeline Croft, Community Engagement Advisor SafeKids Aotearoa

Michelle Knox, Nursing Performance Improvement Team

Rosie Banbury, Cleaner

Team Living our Values Award

Living our values with Turehou Māori Wardens Ki Otara Trust

An approach by Turehou Māori Wardens Ki Otara Trust saw them partner with Auckland Regional Public Health’s (ARPHs) on alcohol work— the partnership a reflection of ARPHS respect of the Wardens as Treaty partners.

The partnership sees the Wardens providing Maori cultural insight regarding potential neighbourhood impact and equity, including geographically pin pointing areas as priorities for alcohol-harm related work and compliance.

The valued partnership means consultation with the Wardens is now a mandatory part of ARPHS Alcohol regulatory Protocol. Equally, ARPHS has helped to establish the Warden’s credibility as an important voice with the District Licensing Committee (DLC).

The partnership sees the two organisations effectively sharing information, including the Warden’s review of ARPHS strategy and policy from an equity viewpoint.

ARPHS is supporting the Trust in a number of ways to reduce inequities, particularly through helping to build community capability. One example is ARPHS support in developing the Warden’s skills in evidence collection and presentation— a necessary skill for opposing proposed licencing by the DLC,  and supporting the Wardens’ Te Tiriti claims.

The Ministry of Health has said this is possibly the first partnership and development model of its kind in New Zealand.

Finalists:

Recruitment Team

Regional Youth Forensics

District Nursing- Maungarei locality

Orthoptist

David was called upon to cover the Radiation Therapy reception desk at short notice. He was “deployed” from another area within the service. The Radiation Therapy Treatment team was so very impressed with his eagerness, friendly attitude (to patients and the staff team) and his initiative. He ensured that all after hours in patients (including the urgent patients we had) were all booked with the after-hours orderly’s and ensured that the appropriate people were aware. He was an absolute pleasure to have as part of our team and he fitted in so well and so quickly. The patients have continued to ask after him as he built great relationships with them in such a short time. Thank you for being so willing to cover this reception desk at short notice and doing it in such a friendly manner.

For further information about any of our planning documents, contact Julie Helean, or  Wendy Bennett .

Annual plans

• Auckland DHB 2017/2018 Annual Plan
• Auckland DHB 2016/2017 Annual Plan
• Auckland DHB 2015/2016 Annual Plan
• Auckland DHB 2014/2015 Annual Plan
• Auckland DHB 2013/2014 Annual Plan
• Auckland DHB 2012/2013 Annual Plan
• Auckland DHB 2011/2012 Annual Plan

Annual reports

The report shows outcomes on the clinical and financial goals in the Annual Plan.

• Auckland DHB 2016/2017 Annual Report
• Auckland DHB 2015/2016 Annual Report
• Auckland DHB 2014/2015 Annual Report
• Auckland DHB 2013/2014 Annual Report
• Auckland DHB 2012/2013 Annual Report 
• Auckland DHB 2012 Annual Report ( This version contains minor typographical corrections from the version tabled in Parliament on 13 December 201 2)  

Asian, migrant, and refugee health

• Asian, Migrant, and Refugee Health Plan 2017-2019

Chief Executive's business expenses & gift disclosures

The Auckland DHB publishes these spreadsheets annually. The spreadsheets show the business expenses the CEO,  has incurred as well as any gifts or hospitality over the value of $100.

• 1 July 2017 - 30 June 2018
• 1 July 2016 - 30 June 2017
• 1 July 2015 - 30 June 2016
• 1 July 2014 - 30 June 2015
• 1 July 2013 - 30 June 2014
• 1 January – 30 June 2013 
• 1 July  –  31 December 2012 

Child health

• Metro-Auckland DHB Healthy Weight Action Plan for Children 2017-2020
• Child Abuse, Neglect, Care & Protection Policy
• Integrated Child and Youth Mental Health and Addictions Direction 2013–2023
• Vulnerable Children Act 2014 factsheet
• Auckland DHB-WDHB Child Health Improvement Plan 2012 – 2017
• Youth Health Improvement Plan 2010-2014
• Sample Child Protection Policy
• Child Protection Policy Template

Health emergency plan

This plan sets out our emergency management arrangements at national, regional and local levels to maintain a resilient and sustainable health sector during any potential significant health or civil emergency.

• Auckland DHB Health Emergency Plan 2014–2017

Health needs assessment

• Asian Health Benchmarking Technical Report for Waitemata and Auckland DHBs 2017
• Health Needs Assessment
• International Benchmarking of Asian Health Outcomes for Waitemata and Auckland DHB 2017 

Health of older people

• Auckland DHB strategy for Older People, Healthy Ageing 2020

Kaumātua action plan

The Auckland and Waitemata DHBs Kaumātua Action Plan 2015 – 2018 documents Auckland and Waitemata DHBs attempt to recognise and address the future implications of the changing older Māori population. The impact will be significant and widely felt across the whole heath sector.

• Kaumātua Action Plan 2015 - 2018

Localities

• Health & healthcare where it matters: A locality approach for Auckland & Waitemata DHBs

Māori health

• Māori Health Plan 2017/2018
• Māori Health Plan 2016/2017
• Māori Health Plan 2015/2016
• Māori Health Plan 2014/2015
• Māori Health Plan 2013/2014
• Māori Health Plan 2012/2013
• Māori Health Action Plan, Te Aratakina: A pathway forward (2006–2010)

National Women's Annual Clinical Reports

• Annual Clinical Report 2017

Northern region health plan

• Northern Region Health Plan 2017/2018
• Northern Region Health Plan 2016/2017
• Northern Region Health Plan 2014/2015

Pacific health

• Pacific Action Plan

Palliative Care Strategy

This strategy will guide further development of integrated palliative care services across the Auckland DHB district.

• Adult Palliative Care Strategy 2015 - 2018

Provider services business plan

The Auckland DHB Provider Services Business Plan for 2017/18 outlines the key priorities and focus of Hospital and Community Services to implement the Auckland DHB strategy and achieve our vision of Healthy communities, World-class healthcare, Achieved together.  

• Provider Services Business Plan 2017-2018
• Provider Services Business Plan 2016 - 2017
• Provider Services Business Plan 2015 - 2016 

Quality accounts

The Quality Account focuses on the achievements we have made against our commitment to make the quality and safety of patient care our highest priority.

• Quality Account 2016/201 7
• Quality Account 2015/2016
• Quality Account 2014/2015
• Quality Account 2013/2014

Rainbow health report (Affinity Services)

• Rainbow Health: The Public Health Needs of LGBTTI Communities in Aotearoa New Zealand with Policy Recommendations

Regional information strategic plan

The Regional Information Strategy supports the transformation to new models of care. Strategies across key information areas underpin the development of a person-centred model and better, more convenient healthcare.

• 2010-2020: Short version

Rheumatic Fever Prevention Plan

• 2016-2017 Refreshed Rheumatic Fever Prevention programme

Serious and adverse/sentinel events

The serious and adverse event reports signal that Auckland DHB has a healthy reporting culture. It is one which is aimed at identifying preventable adverse events and learning from them. This is so that every best effort is made to try and avoid events such as these occurring again.

• Auckland DHB Serious Adverse Events Report 2017/2018
• Auckland DHB Serious Adverse Events Report 2016/2017
• Auckland DHB Serious Adverse Events Report 2015/2016
• Auckland DHB Serious Adverse Events Report 2014/2015
• Auckland DHB Serious Adverse Events Report 2013/2014
• Auckland DHB Serious Adverse Events Report 2012/2013
• Auckland DHB Serious Sentinel Events Report 2011/2012

Strategy 

The Auckland DHB Strategy was approved by the board in June 2016.  This eleven-page document contains the seven strategic themes determined by the board, along with seven strategic mandatories. These themes and mandatories are common across Auckland and Waitemata DHB and refer to work done across both the Funder and Provider arms (ie the full scope of DHB activity). 

•   Auckland DHB Strategy to 2020

System Level Measures Improvement Plan

The Counties Manukau Health and Auckland Waitemata Alliance Leadership Teams have undertaken a joint approach to the development of a System Level Measures improvement plan. Building on the one team theme in the New Zealand Health Strategy, we have co-developed a single improvement plan to ensure streamlined activity and reporting and best use of resources within the health system.

• System Level Measures Improvement Plan 2017/2018
• System Level Measures Improvement Plan 2016/2017

Today we released our Serious Adverse Events Report which outlines Auckland DHB’s Serious Adverse Events for the 2017-18 year. Adverse events are events which generally result in harm to patients.

A Serious Adverse Event is an event that has led to significant additional treatment, is life threatening or has led to an unexpected death or major loss of function.

While we always work to provide the very best care for all our patients, risk is an inherent aspect of healthcare. Occasionally patients experience harm during the course of their treatment, and our policy is to be transparent about any such events so that patients and their families know what happened, and also so that we can learn from these events and prevent them from happening again.

You can find the report under planning documents here.

Six weekly meeting cycle

Week 1 – ADHB Finance, Risk and Assurance Committee and HAC.
Week 2 – WDHB Audit and Finance Committee and HAC.
Week 3 – MHAC or CPHAC and DiSAC*.
Week 4 – ADHB Board.
Week 5 – WDHB Board.
Week 6 – No regular meetings scheduled.

Venues

Grafton– A+ Trust Room, Clinical Education Centre, Level 5, Auckland City Hospital
SDR– Sir Douglas Robb Board Room, Level 7, Building 14, Greenlane Clinical Centre, Greenlane
MD– Marion Davis Library, Building 43, Auckland City Hospital, Grafton

Purpose

• Function as a sub-committee of the Clinical Board advising the CEO on research and contracts, particularly in areas of innovation, quality and risk.
• Act as a scientific advisory committee and review and approve all research that involves Auckland DHB.
• Provide peer oversight and expert advice to enable the organisation to achieve Auckland DHB goals of supporting and promoting high quality research.
• Advise on ways of encouraging more research activity in the organisation.
• Identify areas of potential growth in high quality research and to promote mechanisms to stimulate appropriate research programmes in such areas.
• Oversee and promote the development and implementation of the Auckland DHB research strategy.
• Provide a conduit for the accountability of researchers via the Clinical Board, CEO and the Board.
• Establish a sub-committee (if necessary) to review research applications.

Note full terms of reference for the Research Review Committee are available.

Reviewing and approving research at the Auckland DHB

Research will need to at a minimum, demonstrate the following characteristics:

• Evidence of scientific rigor and sound/innovative practice (includes evidence of previous scientific assessment, i.e. AMRF, HRC, Collaborative Groups).
•  Internal applications must be consistent with Auckland DHB policy, goals and objectives
• Comply with any current regulations, standards, guidelines, statutes and all ethics approval processes.
• Comply with Auckland DHB management approval processes. Choose either link for the process that suits your application: Auckland DHB standard research approval pathway for moderate to high risk observational studies , all interventional studies and studies with budgets; OR  Auckland DHB expedited research approval pathway for Low Risk Studies .
• Have an appropriate budget and costing for undertaking the research, including indirect costs.

All research is reviewed by the Research Review Committee using the appropriate application form  and accompanied by a full budget  and other supportive documentation as described above.

The RRC meet monthly and the committee’s decision and feedback will be forwarded to the investigator usually within two working days after each meeting. If small changes are required, the researcher can make these changes and submit them to the Research Office who will respond within two working days.

Membership

Kim Brackley, Cass Byrnes, Tin Chiu, Sarah Coates, Michael Collins, Sanjeev Deva, Kevin Ellyett, Iris Fontanilla, Lalit Kalra, Helen Lindsay, Benjamin Loveday, Colin McArthur (Chair),(Chair), Cathrine Patten, Stephen Ritchie, Peter Ruygrok, Michael Shepherd, Ken Whyte, Michelle Wilson.Whyte.

Research Review Committee agenda and meeting dates

The Research Office requests that all documentation required for the RRC is received at the office by 5pm on the Monday two weeks before the meeting. 

Minutes

Coming soon...

26 February 2018

2016 Research Report now available

The 2016 Auckland DHB Research Annual Report, comprising outputs and achievements of Auckland DHB researchers, is now available. Click here to read the reportClick here to read the report

3 November 2017

Auckland Academic Health Alliance Collaborative Research Grants

Dr Margaret Wilsher and Professor John Fraser are pleased to announce the 2017 Auckland Academic Health Alliance Collaborative Research Grant round.

The five University and DHB jointly-led projects are awarded more than $340,000 to foster research relationships that promise enhancements in prevention, diagnosis and therapies.

The Alliance was created to develop and foster these relationships and we have robust expectations that the following projects will not only advance clinical science, but also demonstrate just how directly it can create very tangible patient benefits in our health system.

The researchers and grants are:

• Dr Shuan Dai and Professor Steven Dakin - $85,000 to investigate developing a rapid, objective and automated means of measuring misalignment of the eyes. Misalignment is one of the main causes of amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’, which affects 3 per cent of children.
• Dr Sheridan Wilson and Dr Annette Lasham - $60,000 to investigate monitoring of plasma RNA levels during chemotherapy treatment for metastatic breast cancer. This project is expected to generate data that will inform the development of a larger validation trial. It will add to a growing body of research exploring blood-based nucleic acids as early and accurate biomarkers of response during treatment for metastatic breast cancer.
• Dr Arend Merrie and Associate Professor Gregory O’Grady - $42,500 for a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of a novel intervention (prucalopride) to prevent post-operative ileus after elective colectomy. Reducing ileus improves patient experience and shortens the hospital stay for patients undergoing this surgery.
• Dr Giuseppe Sasso and Dr Beau Pontre - $85,000 for developing a non-invasive treatment alternative for atrial fibrillation (AF). The proposed alternative is cardiac radiotherapy with real-time magnetic resonance imaging target-tracking. AF is the most common sustained cardiac rhythm disorder - affecting 2.5 - 4% of adults. It is associated with a twofold increase in mortality compared to people with a normal heart rhythm.
• Dr Lalit Kalra and Associate Professor Cathy Stinear - $70,000 for ‘TWIST’, a prospective, single-site, assessor-blind, observational study to validate the ‘Time to Walk Independently after Stroke’ algorithm. Stroke is a common cause of adult disability, and being able to walk independently is an important rehabilitation goal. The study will provide an opportunity for a physiotherapist to complete a Master’s degree, building Allied Health research capacity within Auckland DHB.

The A+ Trust, Auckland DHB and the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences jointly award these funds. You can find out more about the funding here and the trust at http://www.aplustrust.org.nz/ .  Congratulations to these researchers for their most impressive proposals and well-deserved grants.

14 December 2016

Winners - 2016 Young Investigator Award and Research Poster Week

2016 ADHB Young Investigator Award. The Research Office extends its warmest congratulations to Lily Wu of the New Zealand Liver Transplant Unit, winner of 2016's YIA for her presentation "Long-term Outcome after Curative Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single Institution Intention-to-Treat Analysis of Orthotopic Transplantation Versus Liver Resection Versus Thermal Ablation". Lily was presented her award by CMO Dr Margaret Wilsher and Professor Andrew Shelling, Associate Dean of Research for the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, at the Physician's Grand Round on 1st December.

Congratulations also to Suzanne Lydiard (Medical Physics and Radiation Oncology) who was named YIA Runner Up, and to finalists Cathrine Patten (Cardiovascular Research Unit) and Nick Eichler (Auckland Regional Public Health Service).

2016 Research Poster Winners.The Auckland DHB Research Poster Week is an annual snapshot of the research activity in our organisation and an opportunity to showcase to our people and our patients the ways in which research is creating new knowledge about health and the delivery of healthcare. Forty nine posters were displayed in the level 5 Atrium of Auckland City Hospital during the final week of November. Teams of judges from the fields of Health Professions, Medicine and Nursing assessed and scored the posters in their categories and winners and runners up were decided.

• Health Professions -Winner: Amy Chan (Pharmacy) - Runner Up: Barbara Cormack (Nutrition and Dietetics)
• Medical - Winner:Nicola Culliford-Semmens (Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Service) - Runner Up: Alana Ainsworth (Paediatric Respiratory Department)
• Nursing - Winner:Laurelle Breen, Heather Cave, Kirsty Jackson and Sele Vave Patterson (Community Child Health and Disability Service) - Runner Up - Susan Atherton (Department of Critical Care Medicine)
• Starship - Winner:Amy Chan (Pharmacy) - Runner Up: Rachel Webb (Paediatric Infectious Diseases Department). We gratefully acknowledge the continued support of this competition by the Starship Foundation

Congratulations to the winners and all of our people who took part.

9 August

2015 Research Report now available

The 2015 Auckland DHB Research Annual Report, comprising outputs and achievements of Auckland DHB researchers, is now available. Read full story .

27 June 

Intensive care patients benefit from research funding

Our most unwell patients will benefit from more than $7million of funding awarded to Auckland District Health Board researchers by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC).  Read more here . 

23 May 

New Auckland DHB research application form – version three

As of May 2016 only use v3 of the "Application form for approval of a research project at Auckland DHB" (for the standard approval pathway). The signature sections of the form have been updated to be more consistent with Auckland DHB organisational structure and financial policy. Also, a clinical safety sub-section has been added to the Proposal section (now Section C). The purpose of these questions are to act a prompt for researchers to consider how to pro-actively manage the risk of protocol violations when more than one Auckland DHB department will have significant involvement in the study. New application form and guidelines .

5 April 

Updated Research Office SoP – Financial Management of Research Monies

The Standard Operating Procedure for Auckland DHB financial management of research monies has recently been reviewed and updated.

He Kamaka Waiora Māori Health Research Services

Māori Health Services across the Auckland and Waitemata District Health Boards amalgamated in 2012; both DHBs are committed to addressing inequalities at all levels, including the research environment. The primary function of He Kamaka Waiora Māori  Health Research Services is to support research capability and capacity, and it's available for research activity at both Waitemata and Auckland DHBs.  http://staffnet/mhsresearch

Māori r esearch assessment 

Assessment of research projects' responsiveness to MāoriMaori is a component of the services offered by the Auckland DHB Research Office. The process enables researchers to meet the requirements of the Treaty of Waitangi and Tikanga Best Practice. The Auckland DHB research application forms both have a section for Responsiveness to MāoriMaori that must be completed for all projects. When you have submitted your application form and other study documentsdocInformation to the Research Office, the MāoriMaori review will be automatically organised for you. The review is performed either by the MāoriMaori Advisor for Research or the Kaupapa MāoriMaori Research Analyst but you do not need to contact them separately.  The Auckland DHB Research Office will facilitate this review for you.

After the completion of the Māori research assessment, a letter of support will be sent to you showing that a process of formal research review has taken place.

The criteria used for Maori research assessment can be viewed through this intranet link   http://staffnet/mhsresearch/MaoriResearchAssess.asp

Cultural and research support for patients

The following are details that must be included in your participants' information sheets:
1. For support, talk to your whānau in the first instance. 2. Alternatively you may contact the administrator for He Kamaka Waiora Māori Health Team on 09 486 8324 ext 2324. 3. The Māori Research Committee has requested that the following details be added to the information or consent form:  If you have any questions or complaints about the study, you may contact the Auckland and Waitematā District Health Boards'Māori  Research Committee or Māori  Research Advisor by phoning 09 486 8920 ext 3204.

Consultation with Māori

The assessment process above does not exclude your responsibility to undertake separate consultation with Māori regarding your research project. It is expected that some discussion will have been initiated in the development of your study. In the case of some internationally designed studies, it is expected that the processes by which the research will be implemented in New Zealand have also been considered and discussed.

Te Hononga Pūkenga - Māori and Indigenous Researcher Dictionary

Te Hononga Pūkenga - ‘the connection of experts’, was created by Ngā Pae
o te Māramatanga to make Māori and Indigenous research expertise,
location and contact information readily available, in response to the
need for stronger engagement between Māori Researchers and Government,
the wider public/private sector and to facilitate our communities to
access us as Māori & Indigenous researchers. 

Research Office

Level 14, Support Building, Auckland City Hospital
Private Bag 92024, Auckland, New Zealand
Tel: 064 9 307 4949
Fax: 09 307 8913

researchoffice@adhb.govt.nz

Dr Mary-Anne Woodnorth
Research Manager
Ext 23854
mwoodnorth@adhb.govt.nz

Dr Helen Wihongi
Māori Advisor – Research, Auckland and Waitemata DHBs
021 0203 1167
helen.wihongi@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Tim Sato
Research Advisor and Co-ordinator
Ext 23851
tsato@adhb.govt.nz

Mary Righton
Research Co-ordinator
Ext 23876
mrighton@adhb.govt.nz

Erin HanlonGenevieve Morris
Grants Co-ordinator
Ext 23852
ehanlon@adhb.govt.nzgmorris@adhb.govt.nz

Rong Hu
Research Statistical Consultant
Ext 23857
rongh@adhb.govt.nz

Peter Reed
Statistics Advisor
Children's Research Centre
preed@adhb.govt.nz

DHB Research Governance Contacts

If you intend to involve other New Zealand DHBs as localities in your research project you will need to obtain research approval from those DHBs via their own processes.

Below is a list of contact details for DHB research offices and key contacts:

Bay of Plenty DHB

Phone: 07 579 8797
Email: research@bopdhb.govt.nz

Charlie Stratton |  Research Manager
Phone: 07 579 8797
Email: charlie.stratton@bopdhb.govt.nz 

Canterbury DHB

Phone: 03 364 3630
Email: research.uoc@otago.ac.nz

Rebecca Coombes | Research & Development Manager
Christchurch School of Medicine & Health Sciences & Canterbury DHB
Phone: 03 364 0038 or 80038
Cellphone: 021 364 038
Email: rebecca.coombes@cdhb.health.nz

Capital and Coast DHB

Phone: 04 918 5117
Email: res-research@ccdhb.org.nz

Marina Dzhelali | Service Leader, Research
Email: marina.dzhelali@ccdhb.org.nz

Counties Manukau DHB

Dr Dominic Madell | Dr Shamshad Karatela | Research Manager
Phone: 09 276 0280 Ext 8280
Email: Dominic.Madell@middlemore.co.nzShamshad.karatela@middlemore.co.nz

Hawkes Bay DHB

Phone: 06 878 8109
Email: clinicaltrials@hbdhb.govt.nz

Diana Schmid |  Research Co-ordinator (Clinical Trials)
Phone: 06 878 8109
Cellphone: 021 244 2225
Email: diana.schmid@hawkesbaydhb.govt.nz

(For research other than trials)
Sally Houliston |  Nurse Educator Practice Development
Phone: 06 878 1619 ext: 4505
Cellphone: 027 453 5271
Email: sally.houliston@hawkesbaydhb.govt.nz

Hutt Valley DHB

Phone: 04 570 9250
Email: research@huttvalleydhb.org.nz

Helen Sinclair |  Nurse Educator Practice Development
Phone: 04 570 9250
Cellphone: 027 280 7893
Email: helen.sinclair@huttvalleydhb.org.nz

Lakes DHB

Phone: 07 349 7955 ext 8562
Email: research@lakesdhb.govt.nz

Dr Barry Smith |  Population Health Analyst (Health Inequalities Programme) Planning & Funding Division, Chair Research and Ethics Committee
Phone: 07 349 7955 ext 8562
Cellphone: 027 448 7434
Email: barry.smith@lakesdhb.govt.nz

Committee Secretary, Lakes DHB Research & Ethics Committee
Phone: 07 348 1199 ext 8491
Cellphone: 027 4487 434
Email: shan.tapsell@lakesdhb.govt.nz 

MidCentral DHB 

Phone: 06 350 8602
Email: hdec.research@midcentraldhb.govt.nz

Dr Anne Robertson |  Chair, Ethics Advisory Group
Phone: 06 350 8602
Email: anne.robertson@midcentraldhb.govt.nz

Kenneth Clark |  Chief Medical Officer
Email: kenneth.clark@midcentraldhb.govt.nz

PA to Chief Medical Officer
Email: annette.dyer@midcentraldhb.govt.nz

Nelson Marlborough DHB

Phone: 03 546 1848
Email: pam.stinton-whetnall@nmdhb.govt.nz

Dr Nick Baker |  Chief Medical Officer
Email: nick.baker@nmdhb.govt.nz

Pam Stinton-Whetnall | PA to Chief Medical Officer
Email: pam.stinton-whetnall@nmdhb.govt.nz

Northland DHB 

Phone: 09 430 4101 ext 8801
Email: michael.roberts@northlanddhb.org.nz

Dr Michael Roberts |  Chief Medical Officer
Email: michael.roberts@northlanddhb.org.nz

South Canterbury DHB 

Phone: 03 687 2362

Chris Eccleston |  General Manager Clinical Governance
Email: ceccleston@scdhb.health.nz

Kaye Cameron | Nurse Coordinator Quality & Risk
Email: kcameron@scdhb.health.nz

Southern DHB 

Phone: 03 470 3843
Email: hrs@otago.ac.nz

Dr Dayle Matthews |  Manager, Health Research South, Dunedin School of Medicine & Southern DHB
Phone: 03 474 7604
Email: dayle.matthews@otago.ac.nz

Tairawhiti DHB

Phone: 06 869 0500 ext 8812
Email: ros.iversen@tdh.org.nz

Dr Ros Iversen |  Chief Medical Officer
Email: ros.iversen@tdh.org.nz

Taranaki DHB 

Phone: 06 753 6139 ext 864
Email: research@tdhb.org.nz

Frances McNulty |  Clinical Board Co-ordinator 
Phone: 06 753 6139 ext 8645
Email: frances.mcnulty@tdhb.org.nz

Waikato DHB

Phone: 07 839 8750
Email: research@waikatodhb.health.nz

Veronique Gibbons |  Waikato Clinical School (University of Auckland), Waikato Hospital
Phone: 07 839 8750
Email:   v.gibbons@auckland.ac.nz

Alternative contact:  mary.lapine@waikatodhb.health.nz

Wairarapa DHB

See website: wairarapa.dhb.org.nzwairarapa.dhb.org.nz

Waitemata DHB

Phone: 09 486 8920
Email: research@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Rose Smart |  Decision and Research Support Manager Promotion
Phone: 09 486 8920 ext 2071

West Coast DHB

Phone: 03 769 7400
Email: michele.coghlan@westcoastdhb.health.nz

Michele Coghlan |  Nurse Manager Clinical Services
Phone: 03 769 7400 Ext 2690
Mobile: 027 564 3143
Email: michele.coghlan@westcoastdhb.health.nz

Whanganui DHB

See website: wdhb.org.nz

Ministry, government websites

Ministry of Health

NZ Government

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files. Many are large (over 500KB) and may take a while to download. If you are experiencing blank pages when opening PDF files, please either upgrade your browser to the latest version, or right click on one of the links and choose "save target as", click "save" and then "click open".

2018

Auckland District Health Board

• 19 December - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 7 November 2018 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 26 September 2018 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 15 August 2018 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 4 July 2018 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 23 May 2018 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 11 April 2018 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 28 February 2018 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes

Hospital Advisory Committee

• 28 November 2018 - Agenda + previous minutes
• 17 October 2018 - Agenda + previous minutes
• 5 September 2018 - Agenda + previous minutes
• 25 July 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 13 June 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting mintues
• 2 May 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes 
• 21 March 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 7 February 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 28 November - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 6 June - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 14 March 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes

Community and Public Health Advisory Committee

• 21 November 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 29 August 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 6 June 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 4 April 2018 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes

2017

Auckland District Health Board

• 22 February 2017 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 5 April 2017 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 17 May 2017 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 28 June 2017 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 9 August 2017 - Agenga + previous Board meeting minutes
• 20 September 2017 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 1 November 2017 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 13 December 2017 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes

Hospital Advisory Committee

• 1 February (cancelled)
• 15 March 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 26 April 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 7 June 2017 - Agenda + prevoius meeting minutes
• 19 July 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 30 August 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 11 October 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 22 November 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes

Community and Public Health Advisory Committee

• 29 March 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 21 June 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 13 September 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 6 December 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes 

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 29 March 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 21 June 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 6 December 2017 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes

2016

Auckland District Health Board

• 17 February 2016 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 30 March 2016 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 11 May 2016 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 22 June 2016 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 3 August 2016 - Agenda + prevoius Board meeting minutes
• 7 September 2016 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 26 October 2016 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes
• 7 December 2016 - Agenda + previous Board meeting minutes

Hospital Advisory Committee

• 17 February 2016 Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 30 March 2016 Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 11 May 2016 Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 22 June 2016 Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 3 August 2016 Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 7 September 2016 Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 26 October 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 7 December 2016 Agenda + previous meeting minutes

Community and Public Health Advisory Committee

• 3 February 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes 
• 16 March 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 27 April 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 20 July 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 31 August 2016 -  Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 12 October 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 23 November 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 9 March 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 1 June 2016 -   Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 13 July 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 24 August 2016 -  Agenda + previous meeting minutes
• 16 November 2016 - Agenda + previous meeting minutes

2015

Auckland District Health Board

• 18 February 2015 - Agenda + previous meeting Minutes
• 1 April 2015 - Agenda + previous meeting Minutes
• 22 April 2015 Special Board Meeting - Agenda + previous meeting Minutes
• 13 May 2015 - Agenda + previous meeting Minutes
• 24 June 2015 -   Agenda + Minutes
• 5 August 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 16 September 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 28 October 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 9 December 2015 - Agenda + Minutes - Part 1
• 9 December 2015 - Part 2

Hospital Advisory Committee 

• 18 February 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 1 April 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 13 May 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 24 June 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 5 August 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 16 September 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 28 October 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 9 December 2015  - Agenda + Minutes

Community and Public Health Advisory Committee

• 4 February 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 18 March 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 29 April 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 10 June 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 22 July 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 September 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 14 October 2015  - Agenda + Minutes
• 25 November 215  - Agenda + Minutes

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 11 March 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 June 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 26 August 2015 - Agenda + Minutes
• 18 November 2015 - Agenda + Minutes

 2014

Auckland District Health Board

• 19 February 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 April 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 14 May 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 25 June 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 6 August 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 17 September 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 29 October 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 10 December 2014 - Agenda + Minutes

Hospital Advisory Committee

• 19 February 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 April 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 14 May 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 25 June 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 6 August  2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 17 September 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 29 October - Agenda + Minutes
• 10 December - Agenda + Minutes

Community & Public Health Advisory Committee

• 5 February 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 19 March 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 30 April 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 11 June 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 30 July 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 September 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 15 October 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 26 November 2014 - Agenda + Minutes

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 12 March 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 4 June 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 27 August 2014 - Agenda + Minutes
• 19 November (cancelled)

2013

Auckland District Health Board

• 20 February 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 April 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 15 May 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 26 June 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 August 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 18 September 2013 - Agenda + Minutes + Supplementary Agenda + Minutes
• 9 October 2013 - Agenda + Minutes (special meeting)
• 30 October 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 11 December 2013 - Agenda + Minutes +  Special Meeting Agenda + Minutes

Hospital Advisory Committee

• 20 February 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 April 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 15 May 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 26 June 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 August  2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 18 September 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 30 October 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 11 December 2013 - Agenda + Minutes

Community & Public Health Advisory Committee

• 13 February 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 March 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 12 June 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 24 July 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 4 September 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 16 October 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 27 November 2013 - Agenda + Minutes

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 13 March 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 5 June 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 28 August 2013 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 November 2013 - Agenda + Minutes

2012

Auckland District Health Board

• 15 February 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 28 March 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 9 May 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 June 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 1 August 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 September 2012 - Agenda + Minutes 
• 24 October 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 5 December 2012 - Agenda + Minutes

Hospital Advisory Committee

• 15 February 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 28 March 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 9 May 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 June 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 1 August  2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 12 September 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 24 October 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 5 December 2012 - Agenda + Minutes

Community & Public Health Advisory Committee

• 1 February 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 14 March 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 May 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 6 June 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 18 July 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 29 August 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 1 0 October 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 21 November 2012 - Agenda + Minutes

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 7 March 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 30 May 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 22 August 2012 - Agenda + Minutes
• 14 November 2012 - Agenda + Minutes

2011

Auckland District Health Board

• 2 February 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 March 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 6 April 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 4 May 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 1 June 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 6 July 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 August 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 September 2011 - Agenda + Minutes 
• 5 October 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 November 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 December 2011 - Agenda + Minutes

Hospital Advisory Committee

• 2 February 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 March 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 6 April 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 4 May 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 1 June 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 6 July 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 August 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 September 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 5 October 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 November 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 December 2011 - Agenda + Minutes

Community & Public Health Advisory Committee

• 16 February 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 16 March 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 April 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 18 May 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 15 June 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 July 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 10 August 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 14 September 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 12 October 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 9 November 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 14 December 2011 - Agenda + Minutes

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 16 February 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 April 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 15 June 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 21 September 2011 - Agenda + Minutes
• 16 November 2011 - Agenda + Minutes

2010

Auckland District Health Board

• 3 February 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 March 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 April 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 5 May 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 June 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 July 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 4 August 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 1 September 2010 - Agenda + Minutes 
• 6 October 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 November 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 December 2010 - Agenda + Minutes

Hospital Advisory Committee

• 3 February 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 March 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 April 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 5 May 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 June 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 7 July 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 4 August 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 1 September 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 6 October 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 3 November 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 2 December 2010 - Agenda + Minutes

Community & Public Health Advisory Committee

• 27 January 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 17 February 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 17 March 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 21 April 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 19 May 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 16 June 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 21 July 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 15 September 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 20 October 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 17 November 2010 - Agenda + Minutes

Disability Support Advisory Committee

• 18 February 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 18 March 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 13 May 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 15 July 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 16 September 2010 - Agenda + Minutes
• 18 November 2010 - Agenda + Minutes

Critical care is the specialist care given to patients with sudden and potentially reversible life-threatening diseases or injuries. This can include following accidents, operations, severe infections or a coma. Critical care is divided into two areas; intensive care, where the sickest patients are cared for, and high dependency, where patients who are not well enough to return to general wards are cared for.

About our department

The Department of Critical Care Medicine (DCCM) is one of the leading critical care units in New Zealand, located on the 8th floor of Auckland City Hospital.  We provide intensive and high dependency care for patients over the age of 15 for all conditions except heart, lung and blood vessel surgery.  Our specialist areas of intensive care include liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation and neurological conditions.  Intensive care for heart, lung and vascular surgery is provided by the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Intensive Care Unit.

The unit is open 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year and is staffed by a large team of experienced doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.  We have 24 beds in total - 18 are open bed spaces, and the remaining 6 are isolation side rooms.

We have over 1400 admissions per year of which 75% are emergency and 25% elective. The median length of stay in DCCM is 1.5 days, however patients may require a prolonged stay.

Patients may be admitted to Critical Care from the emergency department, hospital wards, operating theatre or following transfer from another hospital or intensive care unit.

The history of intensive care medicine

Modern intensive care medicine began with the use of prolonged artificial ventilation during the poliomyelitis epidemics of the 1950s and the recognition that the intensive nursing care necessary to treat these patients successfully was best provided in a separate area of the hospital with its own staff, equipment and organisation.

Intensive care began early in New Zealand – it seems likely that Dr Matthew Spence began the first intensive care unit in the southern hemisphere in 1958 at Auckland Hospital. The Department of Critical Care Medicine (DCCM) is the descendant of that first ICU. The special requirements of the work and attributes of its practitioners led to the founding of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) by Dr Spence and Dr Wright from Sydney in 1975.

You are looked after by a team who work together to plan and provide your care. You may see different members of the team at different times. All staff who meet you will introduce themselves. All staff wear a badge stating their name and role.

It is important that you be on time for your appointment. If you arrive late, patients who are on time will be seen before you. If, for any reason, you cannot make your appointment, please let us know, as we might be able to give your time to someone else. To cancel or change an appointment, please call the number on your appointment letter as soon as possible.

What to bring with you

When you come for an appointment you will need:

• Your appointment letter.
• Any medicines that you are currently taking (or a list of them).
• Money to pay for any prescriptions and for parking.
• Your passport, birth certificate or New Zealand citizenship certificate to confirm you are  eligible for publicly funded healthcare (if requested in your appointment letter).

You can bring a support person with you, but we ask that, if possible, you bring no more than two people. In some clinical areas it is only possible for one person to remain with you. If you are bringing children to the clinic, please make sure you supervise them at all times.

When you arrive

Please check your appointment letter carefully for the location of the clinic. On arrival, please report to the receptionist to let us know you have arrived. The clinic receptionist will check your appointment letter and confirm your current details. Please tell them if you have changed your address, telephone number or general practitioner (GP). To help reduce the spread of infection, please wash your hands when you arrive and before you leave the building, or use the hand sanitiser available at most reception areas and entrances of our buildings.

Your appointment

Each specialist in the hospital has a team of doctors supervised by them who will be responsible for your treatment. You will be seen by a member of their team, but not necessarily by the specialist.

Trainee doctors are taught in our hospitals. You may be asked if a trainee doctor can be present at your consultation or involved in your care. You can say no to this and this will not affect your treatment in any way.

The nurse or doctor will explain what treatments or procedures you will be having and ask for your consent before procedures are carried out. For some procedures, such as operations, you will be asked to give specific consent in writing. As well as seeing the doctor, you may need to visit other parts of the hospital or clinic for tests such as x-rays or blood tests. Please allow extra time for this. If you have to leave the clinic before finishing your appointment, please let the receptionist know. If you are unclear about anything please ask.

While we endeavour to see people on time, circumstances outside of our control can cause delays. If you have registered at the reception desk and have been waiting for more than 30 minutes past your appointment time, please check back with the receptionist.

MoreFor more information about your outpatient visit, you can download one of the following brochures depending on which location you are visiting.

Every day of the year, Auckland District Health Board (DHB) brings together thousands of people to deliver world-class healthcare for our communities. More than 11,00010,000 people are directly employed by the Auckland DHB and many others work in collaboration with us as volunteers, contractors, suppliers and professional partners.

Our values

Welcome, Haere Mai – We see you, we welcome you as a person.

Respect, Manaaki– We respect, nurture and care for each other.

Together, Tūhono– We are a high performing team - colleagues, patients and families.

Aim high, Angamua –  We aspire to excellence and the safest care.

Our promise

As employers and employees, we make promises to each other when we decide to work together. As an employer, we are aiming to make it easy for our people to do their life’s best work at Auckland DHB. We want our workforce to be a shining example of a happy, healthy, high performing community.

In return, we promise our people:

• outstanding professional and personal development opportunities,
• that we’ll champion and support their physical and mental wellbeing,
• and we’ll be transparent and fair to ensure we can all live our values and commitments.

The Auckland DHB People Strategy outlines our goals and ambitions, and the steps we’re taking to ensure we are a great place to work.

Celebrating diversity

At Auckland DHB we celebrate the rich diversity we have in our team and in the population we serve. Valuing and promoting inclusion is part of who we are.

When you work with us you can bring your whole self to work knowing that we welcome and support people of all gender identities, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, disability and religions.  This includes recognising and supporting our Rainbow Community - lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, takatāpui and intersex (LGBTTI+).

Having a workforce that reflects our community is important to us and it’s important to our patients. Seeing others with similar backgrounds our patients know they can be their authentic selves and that we will treat them with dignity and respect. Research shows, this results in better health outcomes for our patients, community, and whānau.

Accessibility Tick

Auckland DHB is committed to providing an inclusive work place where everyone is accepted for who they are and are supported to do their life’s best work.

Auckland DHB was one of the first organisations in New Zealand to be awarded the Accessibility Tick. A programme helping employers be part of the solution in creating a more accessible and inclusive New Zealand for people with disabilities.

By signing up to the Accessibility Tick we have made a commitment and have a plan to continue to get accessibility right.

 To find out more visit the Accessibility Tick website

Interested in working with us?

See our latest vacancies on the Auckland DHB careers website or www.kiwihealthjobs.com .

We’re a Good Employer

Auckland DHB is an active and committed participant in the New Zealand Human Rights Commission’s Good Employer programme, and we are proud of our track record of improvement and high achievement. For the second year in a row, we received a 100 per cent rating in the 2016 report.

You can read the full report for Auckland DHB in 2016 here.

Celebrating our people

We have just published the 2016 edition of ‘Celebrating Our People’ , a booklet which provides an opportunity to acknowledge and share the fantastic achievements of our people. Take the time to have a look through and see stories of innovation, achievement, loyalty and professionalism.

This booklet cannot describe the whole story, we have many everyday heroes emplyed at Auckland DHB and you are ALL truly appreciated for the work you do. 

You can also see the 2015 edition here.

Our employee engagement

In late 2016, we surveyed our employees to measure their engagement and satisfaction with Auckland DHB. The results of the survey help guide where we need to focus our efforts to achieve the Auckland DHB strategy and goals, through a better experience at work for our people.

57 per cent of our people responded to the survey, and they reported a 77 per cent employee engagement result.

They also told us we have strengths, and opportunities for improvement:

 Strengths

• Our purpose, values and objectives are clear to people – there is a clear sense of direction and people are clear about their individual roles.
• Teamwork is the cornerstone of safe healthcare: people report that individual teams work well together and colleagues are helpful, friendly and welcoming to each other.
• 78 per cent of people feel safe to speak up when there is an error or an issue – indicating a strong safety culture, with some room for improvement.

Opportunities

• The need to review workloads and check on our people’s health and wellbeing; and on quality of patient care.
• People would like to see more positive behaviours between colleagues, and more visible and supportive leadership and management.
• We can make further improvements in team-working and working between teams and services.

 Action planning is underway across the organisation to strengthen the good things already happening for our people, and make improvements where required.  

If you have a feedback about a service or care that you or a family member received at Auckland DHB, please let us know. We welcome all constructive feedback because without it we cannot continually improve our services or share positive stories with staff. 

Compliments

It’s great to hear when we're doing a good job. You can share your compliments with us by:

• Speaking directly to the health professional who provided your care, or the manager of that area.
• Contacting our Consumer Liaison Team .
• 
  

If you feel that someone from our team has gone above and beyond to provide care for you or a family member, you can also take a minute to  nominate them as a local hero .

Complaints

If you have an immediate concern about your treatment or care, we encourage you to speak directly to those providing your care or to the manager of that area. If you feel uncomfortable talking to these people or aren’t satisfied with their response, you can share your concerns with us by:

• Contacting our Consumer Liaison Team .
  

Alternatively, you can  raise your concerns with either the Health and Disability Advocacy Service, or the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC). Information on how to do this and their contact details can be found at www.hdc.org.nz .

Website feedback

Our website has undergone changes in appearance and layout, as well as how information is presented. Please take a moment to share your experience with us by  filling out this short survey . For general feedback about our website please email us .

Consumer Liaison Contact Details

• Email:  feedback@adhb.govt.nz
• Phone: 09 375 7048
• Mail to: Consumer Liaison Team, Auckland DHB, Private Bag 92024, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142