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Six Canterbury finalists in New Zealand Health Innovation Awards

Canterbury is strongly represented in this year’s New Zealand Health Innovation Awards (HIA), with six out of 22 finalists coming from the region.

The New Zealand Health Innovation Awards are a long-standing joint initiative by the Ministry of Health and ACC. They celebrate innovative thinking and, often, life changing developments in the health field.

“Canterbury is a region which should be congratulated for its cutting-edge projects and progressive thinking,” said Ministry of Health spokesman Dr Colin Feek.

Dr Jan White, Chief Executive of ACC says "the New Zealand Health Innovation Awards have established a reputation for showcasing original, and often ground breaking, developments in the health arena. ACC is very pleased to work with the Ministry of Health to ensure that original thinking is celebrated and, ultimately, utilised to improve the health of New Zealanders."

The six innovations are helping improve the lives of children and young people, patients at Christchurch Hospital, and people needing physiotherapy treatment.

The finalists are:

Canterbury District Health Board: Improving the Patient Journey Programme
Canterbury District Health Board: A Group Circuit Rehabilitation Programme Improves Accessibility to Physiotherapy Services
Canterbury District Health Board: Front Door Physio
Canterbury District Health Board: Improving the Care of Children with Gastroenteritis and Dehydration
ARANZ Medical Limited: Advancing Wound Assessment into the digital era
NZ Endometriosis Foundation: me, an endometriosis programme

Improving the Patient Journey is an extensive project to improve quality, safety and performance at Christchurch Hospital. Each area conducts its own analysis of what causes constraints in patient flow and how best to address them. The programme was recently endorsed by the Minister of Health as the most significant piece of work on improving patient flow in New Zealand’s health sector.

Another Canterbury District Health Board project has improved the management of children in Christchurch Hospital with gastroenteritis and dehydration at Christchurch Hospital. The children are treated with effective oral rehydration to avoid, where possible, painful interventions such as use of intravenous fluids or nasogastric tube rehydration. As a consequence a greater proportion of children are being discharged home at an early stage.

A group circuit rehabilitation programme for physiotherapy outpatients with acquired brain injury and Burwood Hospital in Christchurch, is another finalist. Running this programme means patients can access physiotherapy treatment sooner and the results show maintenance or improvement in their balance, walking speed, endurance and quality of life. The physiotherapy team can provide a more flexible, efficient and effective service which is holistic, evidence-based and meets the patients’ needs.

The Front Door Physio is a full-time physiotherapy service that has been set up in the Emergency Department of Christchurch Hospital. The service has not only cut waiting times but has increased the numbers of patients being treated.

ARANZ Medical SilhouetteMobile uses digital photography to track the progress of wound healing. This frees health care professionals from relying on inexact methods for assessing the healing progress of ulcers and other skin wounds.

me is a menstrual health and endometriosis teaching programme for use in secondary schools. Endometriosis is reported to affect around one in five girls and women. me teaches young women how to identify the symptoms of endometriosis, enabling them to gain earlier diagnosis and treatment. The programme has meant more young women being diagnosed and treated earlier which improves quality of life and can prevent the possibility of compromised fertility.

“The New Zealand Health Innovation Awards celebrate the innovation of New Zealand’s health professionals and showcase some of the excellent developments and improvements within our health service.”

The HIA, first held in 2003, are growing in popularity with 186 entries this year, compared with 111 last year. They were started as a joint endeavour of the Ministry of Health and ACC to recognise individuals and organisations that have developed new and innovative approaches to delivering better health services.

The winner will be announced at a gala dinner on 10 October 2007 at Wellington Town Hall.

Further information about the HIA is available online at http://www.healthinnovationawards.co.nz.

ENDS