711

Leadership and Professional Communication

in Healthcare Management

Assessment # 2

Submitted by:

Jobelle Angelica Lara

DBH258
Student

Submitted to:

Patrick Okezie
Lecturer

22nd December 2017

 711 Leadership and Professional Communication in Healthcare Management
Assessment 2 |Jobelle Angelica A Lara | DBH258

Auckland District Health Board

Auckland District Health Board is one of New Zealand’s largest District Health Board that
provide services to a large and diverse population, as well as wide range of secondary and
tertiary services for the rest of the population of New Zealand. According to Ministry of
Health, Auckland District Health Board’s population is around 510,450 (2016/17 estimate).
ADHB is younger than rest of New Zealand that makes it one of the lowest proportions of
individuals over the age is 75 among all the District Health Boards. It has few population of
Maori or Pasifika and it has also fewer population who live in most deprived areas. ADHB
has one of the fastest growing populations and has been recognised that it has one of the
younger and healthier population across New Zealand. However, it also notes that it provides
many services for the rest of the country.

All the twenty (20) District Health Boards are established under the Health and Disability Act
2000. The aim of the DHBs is to improve, promote, and protect the health of communities,
integrate health services, and to promote effective care or support. ADHB is working to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services, with primary care and its neighboring
DHBs in the northern region to ensure health services is provided to the population.

Auckland DHB has approximately 10,000 health and medical staff employed and has three
major facilities. New Zealand’s largest public hospital and largest clinical research facility is
the Auckland City Hospital. The pediatric healthcare service and major teaching centre is the
Starship Children’s Hospital which provides family centred care to children and young
individuals throughout New Zealand and the South Pacific and ADHB’s centre for outpatient
services and day stay surgeries is the Greenlane Clinical Centre (ADHB, 2016a).

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 711 Leadership and Professional Communication in Healthcare Management
Assessment 2 |Jobelle Angelica A Lara | DBH258

ADHB’s Implementation of the New Zealand Health Strategy

To build confidence in the health system and for people to be confident, there is a need of
transparency to ensure the implementation of the New Zealand Health Strategy. The
framework which ADHB and other District Health Boards uses for implementation is
provided by the New Zealand Health Strategy. This strategy highlights the Government’s
priorities regarding the health of the people in New Zealand. Diseases such as diabetes and
cancer and other factors such as nutrition and smoking are reflected in the Government’s
priorities (ADHB, 2016a).

ADHB is governed mainly by a Board of eleven (11) people in which seven (7) are elected
and four (4) that are appointed by the Minister of Health. The Board members provide
strategic administration for ADHB and all other DHBs, taking into account other priorities
and the vision of the Government for the health sector. The Chair for ADHB is Sharon Shea
followed by Judith Bassett, Zoe Brownie, Lee Mathias and Robyn Northey as committee
members. All the operational issues of Auckland DHB handled by the Executive Leadership
Team mainly headed by Chief Executive Ailsa Claire. Auckland DHB focuses mainly on
quality through a consistent organizational strategy and a robust QI framework (ADHB,
2016a).

New Zealand Health Strategy’s main priority is to strengthen health research and
innovation system, including optimistic impacts on health of all the people in New
Zealand, including strong Maori and Pacifica research and world -leading research
studies. The strategy has the aim of having the world -leading health research and
innovation system that through research can and will improve the health and
wellbeing of all New Zealanders. The strategy provides a framework that over time
should lead to major changes in the way that everyone in the health sector works (ADHB,
2016a).

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 711 Leadership and Professional Communication in Healthcare Management
Assessment 2 |Jobelle Angelica A Lara | DBH258

ADHB’s Targets and Priorities

Auckland District Health Board is New Zealand’s largest DHB that provides one of the
largest healthcare services as well as secondary and tertiary services for the rest of New
Zealand. ADHB is recognized as the healthy and young generations across New Zealand.
However, it is also noted that it provides the largest number of primary to tertiary services
for the rest of the country. Auckland DHB ‘s fundamental objectives are to increase the
wellness of the people settling in Auckland and to take public presentation progress which
is aligned with authorities’ overall vision for the wellness in New Zealand (ADHB,
2016b).

ADHB’s hospital services must be sustainable, and funding must be always provided. This
requires ADHB to get even more worth from the staff and resources to be able to reduce risks
clinically and financially by providing cost-effective and sustainable services at all levels.
ADHB’s aim is to work as one system, all staff are working in harmony, clinicians work with
open communication that proper and high quality care and service will be provided, involves
the re-thinking care delivery models, designing care around the patient and shifting services
to community care setting that will be beneficial to ADHB and the community they will serve
and be provided as one healthcare system (ADHB, 2016b).

ADHB’s Performance Expectation

Auckland DHB invested in shaping and developing their staff through workshops, trainings,
assessments and continuous education and providing them with skills and knowledge to drive
change and improve motivation and retention. If service users can access health services
early (particularly vulnerable groups), health problems are identified, monitored and
addressed early then the impact downstream on the health system is more favorable in terms
of cost, likelihood of complex problems arising and better health outcomes (ADHB, 2016c).

Sustainability, accountability and transparency were shown in the ADHB’s Performance

expectation. The actions can be interpreted to also mean better use of the private sector in the
distribution of services, Public Private Partnerships and Social Investment Bonds

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 711 Leadership and Professional Communication in Healthcare Management
Assessment 2 |Jobelle Angelica A Lara | DBH258

ADHB’s Financial Performance, Stewardship, Service Configuration and Performance

Measure

Auckland DHB is using quality framework and concepts as core element of their strategies to
improve health outcomes and to manage healthcare costs effectively. They placed great
responsibility for traditionally non-clinical areas onto clinical leaders, including financial
management, HR and patient outcomes in reformation into executives and board committees.
All staff were empowering to develop Quality improvement (QI) ideas and projects to shape
capability and commitment at a team level and can produce a shared vision of QI across the
organisation (New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, 2015).

Auckland DHB’s key to success that successfully spread through the whole organisation are
the better use of data and information gathered and the monitoring and improving of
performance of different teams. Each team’s performance is displayed on their respective
boards for the staff to monitor their performance throughout the year to know if there is a
need for improvement or change. They maintained a strong focus on quality improvement
through the Healthcare Excellence framework that covers the safety of patients, better and
high quality care, well-maintained economic status and workforce that is well engaged. The
executive team and the board members provides tools to make the framework coverage put
into tasks and make sure to monitor and improve it always. They have also extended their
challenging strategies into primary and community care (ADHB, 2016c).

Performance measure is useful in disseminating best practices and identifying new leaders by
encouraging them to participate to small projects and raise it up. The transparency in
performance allows a benchmark that contributes to the information asymmetry that exist
across different areas and teams. The central motivation to invest in healthcare quality is the
improvement of consumer engagement and patient experience. Patients are invited to share
their experiences of care with the board and the executive team (Ministry of Health, 2015).

Auckland DHB Good leadership both at the executive and clinical levels was recognised in
Auckland DHB. Development of leadership capabilities across the organisations should
always be a priority. Auckland DHB should always play a role in developing greater
capability of healthcare quality and performance and to classify skills and practices that can
benefit the whole organisation and the country.
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 711 Leadership and Professional Communication in Healthcare Management
Assessment 2 |Jobelle Angelica A Lara | DBH258

References

Auckland District Health Board, (2016) a. Retrieved from www.adhb.govt.nz

http://www.adhb.govt.nz/about/governance_and_leadership.htm

Auckland District Health Board, (2016) b. Retrieved from www.adhb.govt.nz

http://www.adhb.govt.nz/about-us/who-we-are/executive-leadership-team/

Auckland District Health Board, (2016) c. 2016/17 Annual Plan. Retrieved from
www.adhb.govt.nz (http://www.adhb.health.nz/assets/Documents/About-
Us/Planning-documents/ADHB-Annual-Plan-2016-17.PDF

Ministry of Health, (2015). Update of the New Zealand Health Strategy: All New Zealanders
live well, stay well, get well consultation draft. Retrieved from
www.health.govt.govt.nz
https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/update-new-zealand-
health-strategy-consultation-draft-oct15_0.pdf

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, (2015). Submission of the New Zealand Council of
Trade Unions. Retrieved from www.union.org.nz
https://www.union.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/151127-StatsNZ-Household-
Living-Costs-Price-Indexes.pdf