Board supports investigation of Canterbury Children’s Hospital proposal

Canterbury District Health Board today supported further investigation into the possibility of a Children’s Hospital being established in the region.

The proposal was presented to the Board by doctors from the CDHB’s Child Health Service.

Chief of Child Health Dr Nicola Austin said, “the Service believes that a new approach to the delivery of children’s healthcare in Canterbury has become logical and timely in light of recent work on Health Services Planning at the CDHB.”

“The current child facilities that are located mainly in the Riverside block at Christchurch Hospital will need to be replaced within the next ten years.  It is an ideal opportunity to think about where future facilities should be located and how they should be configured,” she said.

“Our proposal is for a Children’s Hospital that includes all acute and elective inpatient and outpatient services and which meets the needs of children and young people for the next 25 years.”

At a recent meeting of the Child Health Service, attendees agreed that

Ø      Services for children need to be provided in a child appropriate environment, physically separated from adult services.

Ø      A more integrated child health service would improve the Service’s ability to attract and retain staff.

Ø      Models of Care which integrate primary and secondary services as well as using nursing specialists need to be updated

Ø      Project population growth will need to be taken into account in planning a possible Children’s Hospital.

Ø      Development of youth services should also be included

Dr Austin said,” the aim of the Children’s Hospital concept is to improve the health outcomes of all children who require secondary and tertiary services in Canterbury DHB.”

In its recommendations, the Board approved the concept of exploring a children’s hospital including initially planning with regional and national groups. The aim would be to explore the wider service implications and models of care, with a view to providing a business case to the Board, the recommendations said. The time frame for this is to be six months.  The proposal is to be consulted on separately and also as part of the CDHB’s draft strategic plan.