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Towards integrated person-centred healthcare – the Canterbury journey
Resource type
Authors/contributors
- Gullery, Carolyn (Author)
- Hamilton, Greg (Author)
Title
Towards integrated person-centred healthcare – the Canterbury journey
Abstract
The Canterbury District Health Board (DHB) is the second largest by population (over half a million people) and by geographical area of the 20 DHBs in New Zealand, which were established in 2000. The DHB directly employs over 9,500 staff, and a similar number work in non-governmental sector and private based DHB-funded health services, which includes general practice. The DHB is government funded to plan the strategic direction for health and disability services in Canterbury; fund the majority of health and disability services provided in Canterbury; provide health and disability services primarily for the population of Canterbury but also extensive tertiary services for the South Island and, in some cases, for residents of the lower North Island; and promote, protect and improve the health and wellbeing of the Canterbury population.
Publication
Future Hospital Journal
Volume
2
Issue
2
Pages
111-116
Date
2015-6
Journal Abbr
Future Hosp J
Language
en
ISSN
2055-3323
Accessed
11/27/19, 9:54 PM
Library Catalog
PubMed Central
Extra
PMID: 31098098
PMCID: PMC6460205
Link
Notes
Study topic: Overview of Canterbury District Health Board’s transformation into an integrated, person-centred health system, including measurable impacts on hospital demand, aged care, and system resilience following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Study type: Descriptive case study with quantitative outcomes
Key findings:
- Canterbury’s integrated health system reduced acute medical admissions by 30% relative to national averages, avoiding the need for ~100 additional hospital beds.
- Reduced length of stay for patients over 75 years with long admissions (>14 days) by 14% (28 beds saved).
- The proportion of people aged 75+ living in residential care dropped from ~16% to just over 12%, despite population growth—equating to over 400 fewer aged care beds.
- Alliance contracting and the Canterbury Clinical Network enabled system-wide collaboration, balancing patient needs with system sustainability.
- The integrated model proved resilient during the 2011 earthquake, maintaining service delivery despite losing 17% of acute hospital capacity and hundreds of aged care beds.
- HealthPathways, developed with Streamliners, became the region's standard for referral and management, with over 1.3 million uses per year and 600+ localised pathways supporting consistent best practice and faster access to care.
Citation
Gullery, C., & Hamilton, G. (2015). Towards integrated person-centred healthcare – the Canterbury journey. Future Hospital Journal, 2(2), 111–116. https://doi.org/10.7861/futurehosp.2-2-111
Topic
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