Waitaki District Health Services Board MEDIA RELEASE - 8 October 2009

New Oamaru Hospital CT Scanner MEDIA RELEASE – 18 March 2008

Waitaki District Health Services Board MEDIA RELEASE - 26 September, 2007

New Oamaru Hospital CT Scanner MEDIA RELEASE – 18 MARCH 2008

BOARD DELIGHTED SAYS CHAIRMAN

WDHSL Board Chairman George Berry has confirmed that the new CT Scanner at Oamaru Hospital is now fully operational and that Waitaki District patients are now having conditions diagnosed sooner and treatment started more promptly. “Our Board is delighted to have been able to provide high quality modern soft tissue imaging equipment at Oamaru Hospital” he said. “It is an essential tool for diagnosis and treatment in 21^st century medicine and we have been able to provide it for our community, it is also the most modern scanner of its type in New Zealand at this time”.

Hospital manager Robert Gonzales said that the installation of the Siemens 16 Slice CT Scanner machine is the company’s most exciting achievement since the hospital’s opening in year 2000. Staff are “over the moon” using the equipment, which also includes new X-ray and Ultrasound equipment, and with the improved service the hospital is now able to offer.

“Our patients no longer have to travel out of town nor sometimes wait as much as 52 weeks for scans. Clinicians find it is a good tool for definitive and timelier diagnosis. This reduces the anxiety caused by waiting and enables us to provide treatment more quickly,” he said.

The images are sent electronically to Otago Radiology where they are read and Oamaru normally receives reports back within 24 hours.

“Overall, there has been a massive improvement in reporting turn-around time from up to three weeks to an average of .9 of a day which is better for patients and staff. Some reports arrive within an hour of a procedure’s completion because the new equipment is able to make available the dictated reports electronically which has sped up the reporting process significantly.”

The scanner was commissioned in the last week of February and scanned 25 patients in that time. One of the hospital’s radiographers had 10 years previous experience with CT scanners and he and two other radiographers have been given full operational training from Siemens in conjunction with the machine’s commissioning.

The scanner is used for patients referred from the Oamaru Hospital’s in-patient ward and emergency department as well as for ACC cases and is available for private referrals from GPs and specialists.

“The public are able to use the scanner on a private basis if they have a doctor’s referral which means local patients won’t have to travel out of town, and other out of town patients can be referred from anywhere else to Oamaru for scans.”

“Most importantly WDHSL now has the capacity to help reduce the very long waiting lists existing in the region” Mr Gonzales said.

The scanner and upgrading of the radiology department cost $1.8m which was funded by the Waitaki District Health Services Trust. The Trust was established with funds given to the old Oamaru Hospital and has been built up by donations from groups and individuals over the 10 years WDHS has been operating. There have been some very generous donations made to the Trust over the last year.

“The scanner and new radiology equipment is a wonderful asset for the hospital and the community. I am very grateful that the Board is committed to increasing services in this way and it is very pleasing to see the successful completion of the scanner project which was begun last July” Mr Gonzales said.

The Siemens brand scanner was chosen because of its reputation for reliability and excellent support. It comes with a one year warranty and further five-year full servicing contract.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

ROBERT GONZALES

MANAGER – OAMARU HOSPITAL

Ph        (03) 433 0290

Fax      (03) 433 0280

Mob    027 240 2711

Email   robert.gonzales@healthotago.co.nz
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Waitaki District Health Services Board - 26 Sept, 2007

New Initiatives And State Of The Art Technology To Future Proof Oamaru Hospital

An upgrade of radiology services and equipment at Oamaru Hospital will cut patient waiting times, reduce patient travel and improve patient care.

Waitaki District Health Services, the company that operates Oamaru Hospital, will provide radiology services at the community owned hospital from December this year.

The company will take over the management of the service from the Otago District Health Board Radiology Service in a move which has delighted local people and health professionals alike.

Board chairman, George Berry, said the decision would “future proof” Oamaru hospital for many years to come.

Waitaki District Health Services, through the hospital trust, has invested heavily in new leading edge equipment and facilities which will vastly improve the quality and range of radiography services available at Oamaru Hospital. This includes the purchase of new general X-ray equipment, replacing the 15 year old mobile X-ray unit, and ultrasound equipment.

The most significant investment of its recent purchase is a state-of-the-art 16-slice Siemens Emotion Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner. The purchase means less invasive procedures, currently only available from larger metropolitan hospitals, such as CT colonoscopy, general vascular studies and CT urogram examinations, will now be available at Oamaru Hospital. Oamaru will be one of only two district hospitals in New Zealand to own a CT scanner.

The hospital’s medical and nursing staff are delighted with the board’s announcement and the advantages it will bring for diagnostic and patient care.

“The scanner will provide a much higher quality of diagnostic imaging services to the Waitaki District community as well as patients from further afield,” Mr Berry said. “CT Scanning is the front line in modern diagnostics. With this type of technology we can make faster, more accurate assessments and provide a world-class healthcare service to the people of the Waitaki District”.

“We’re extremely grateful for the Waitaki District Health Service Trust’s support of the hospital. Purchasing the new Siemens CT scanner is the largest project undertaken since the hospital was built,” Mr Berry went on to say.

Waitaki District Mayor Alan McLay said he was also pleased with the hospital’s news.

“Our hospital is a unique asset we can all be proud of. It provides a higher level of service than is the norm for a community of Oamaru’s size. This is mainly thanks to the efforts and foresight of the board and the trust,” he said.

Siemens New Zealand General Manager Medical, Andrew Wickers, said that Oamaru Hospital is to be congratulated for its commitment to delivering improved healthcare, evident in its investment in leading technology.

“The Siemens Emotion 16-slice CT scanner is the most popular CT in the world and when you look at the outcomes it delivers you will know why,” said Mr Wickers.

While demand already existed for the scanner, the board plans to accept ACC referrals and private patients from within and outside the District to help fund its purchase.

The WDHSL board is hopeful existing staff employed by Otago District Health Board will transfer over to Waitaki District Health Services employment. The hospital will also continue to work closely with Dunedin Hospital in supplementing the services provided there.

The new Siemens CT scanner will arrive and be installed towards the end of the year. The new CT scanning service will become operational by early March next year.

“There may be some disruption around the time of installation, but we can assure local people it will be worth the wait,” Mr Berry said.

Otago District Health Board Diagnostic and Support Services Group Manager Sonja Dillon said X-ray services at Oamaru Hospital would be provided by the trust from 4 December 2007.

“We have considered Oamaru an important part of our service and are sorry that our involvement as it currently stands will be ceasing, however we recognise that needs change over time.”

We hope we will continue to have a co-operative relationship with the trust that ensures the needs of people in Waitaki and the Otago region as a whole are met. Our priority over the next three months will be to ensure that there is a smooth transition for patients and staff, Ms Dillon says.

For more information please contact:

Waitaki District Health Services                Otago District Health Board
Board Chairman                                           Sonja Dillon
George Berry                                                Phone 03 474 7824
Phone 03 434 8737
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Waitaki District Health Services Board - 8 October, 2009

Otago District Health Board’s decision to centralize Service Coordination will result in poorer service

Otago District Health Board’s decision to centralise Service Coordination will result in a poorer service for patients and add to costs Oamaru Hospital manager Robert Gonzales said.

Service Coordination staff works with elderly people with disabilities and work out which services are best suited to their needs within community setting, including residential care placements.

Oamaru Hospital currently receives funding for providing Service Coordination including administrative support, employing a team of part-time staff. The ODHB plans to withdraw that contract from Oamaru and the other rural Otago hospitals and provide the service centrally from Dunedin.

“Our team is based locally in the hospital and has a very close working relationship with the multi disciplinary assessment team. That enables a prompt response to referrals which facilitates discharges from Takaro (Inpatient) ward and may prevent social admissions.

“Staff are also able to attend family meetings which helps with discharge planning. Having to refer people to an outside agency in Dunedin will slow response times, adding to costs for the hospital and result in a poorer service for patients.

“Local knowledge and face to face meetings between Service Coordination staff and patients and their families/whanau/carers are important parts of the service which will be lost if the work is done from Dunedin by telephone.”

Mr Gonzales said that patients and their families were at times upset and concerned when they needed Service Coordination assistance and personal rapport with the people helping them was an important part of the service. The proposed changes which would require much of the work to be done through telephone contact would be a poor substitute for face to face consultation.

“No matter how good the staff in Dunedin are, they can’t offer the same level of service over a telephone as our staff deliver in person.”

For more information please contact:

Waitaki District Health Services Robert Gonzales

Board Chairman General Manager

George Berry Oamaru Hospital

Phone 03 434 8737 Phone 03 433 0290
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