Hospital Performance Report Released

Health Minister Bill English today released a report on hospital performance, which showed hospitals have achieved an increase in productivity, further reductions in the length of time patients needed to spend in hospital, and increases in the occupancy rate of hospital beds.

"These are all positive trends and shows the hospital sector is continuing to make improvements in how it works.

"The report highlights an on-going issue with the deficits hospitals face. Since then action has been taken to resolve this issue, with the decision as outlined in the Budget to move away from deficit funding. Deficit funding has distorted hospital performance because it covered up under-pricing and under-purchasing of hospital services.

"Final negotiations around this should be completed by the end of the month, putting hospitals on a sounder footing from the new financial year beginning 1 July," said Mr English.

Other achievements in the sector noted in the report include:

• national recognition of service quality (Auckland Healthcare, Health Waikato, Eastbay Health)
• continuing progress in the development of integrated health care initiatives (Auckland Healthcare, Eastbay Health, healthlink South, Western Bay Health, Coast Health Care, and, since this report, Nelson-Marlborough Health)
• co-operation and co-ordination between health care providers and agencies (Healthlink South and Canterbury Health, Lakeland Health and local iwi, Southern Health and Healthcare Otago, Southern Health and community stakeholder group)

"This report is part of the detailed monitoring of hospital performance and includes a number of technical and comparative indicators. The report is circulated within the sector and is often used as a basis for further discussion at both clinical and management level.

"However, it is important to note that this is only one type of report that Ministers receive about the sector. The role of the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit is to provide advice from an ownership perspective, therefore its reports focus on financial and efficiency improvements," said Mr English.

Mr English also released the Statement of Owners' Expectations of Crown Health Enterprises, which is an annual statement to directors and chief executives of hospitals clarifying:

• the Government's expectations of hospitals
• the roles and responsibilities of shareholders and boards
• the performance expected of boards
• the accountability arrangements which operate.

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