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Expressions of Interest: Consumer representative for the Mental Health and Addiction Quality Improvement Programme Leadership Group

Source: Health Quality and Safety Commission – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Expressions of Interest: Consumer representative for the Mental Health and Addiction Quality Improvement Programme Leadership Group

Mental Health & Addiction Quality Improvement

Do you want to use your own mental health and/or addiction experience to work with the Health Quality & Safety Commission? 

We are seeking expressions of interest for the consumer position in the Commission’s Mental Health and Addiction (MHA) Quality Improvement Programme (QIP) Leadership Group. This group has a diversity of senior sector leaders as members and provides advice and direction to the Commission on this programme and its projects.

Key purpose of the Leadership Group

  1. Provide sector leadership in the development and implementation of the MHA quality improvement programme and achieving improved outcomes.
  2. Proactively support effective relationships between the MHA sector and the Commission.
  3. Provide advice and make recommendations to the Commission that are informed by evidence and international, national and local knowledge, and focused on strategies to improve mental health and addiction services.
  4. Share information that supports a national approach to MHA quality and safety improvements.
  5. Foster an integrated approach to improving the quality and safety of health and disability services with other Commission programmes.

What is expected of the consumer representative role?

Members of the Leadership Group have well-established networks and the ability to consult widely. Full day face-to-face meetings are held at least quarterly in Wellington or Auckland, with occasional teleconferences at other times and decisions by e-mail, if required.

The consumer representative will:

  • provide advice from a mental health and/or addiction consumer perspective, and be able to represent your own views from lived experience and represent the relevant views of your consumer community
  • provide advice and review materials from the Commission’s MHA programme, working collaboratively with other LG members, and other agencies when required
  • promote the work of the Commission and the Mental Health and Addiction Quality Improvement Programme with local, regional and national consumer groups and health providers
  • support and promote consumer leadership capability development in the health and disability sector
  • provide strategic guidance and support to enhance collaboration between consumer groups, health providers and government agencies.

Selection criteria

Candidates will be selected according to the following criteria:

  • demonstrated experience as a consumer representative
  • established or developing networks with local, regional and national consumer and community groups
  • ability to use personal mental health and/or addiction health experiences and those of others to support better design and delivery of health and disability services
  • knowledge about the mental health and addiction/disability services in New Zealand
  • experience working in advisory groups
  • prior knowledge/experience in co-design and/or quality improvement.

How to submit an Expression of Interest

Read and complete the attached Expression of Interest form, and email it to info@hqsc.govt.nz by 5pm Friday 23rd March 2018.

All candidates will be notified of the outcome of their Expression of Interest within one week of the closing date. Short-listed candidates will be then be offered a telephone interview and the successful candidates will be notified within a week of the telephone interview date. 

For further information please contact:
Shaun McNeil, National Consumer Engagement Advisor – Mental Health and Addiction.
shaun.mcneil@hqsc.govt.nz
04 912 0306
021 933 681

Approximate Timeline

Application closing date

5pm, Friday 23 March 2018
You will be notified by  Friday 30 March 2018
Shortlist telephone interviews during first full week April 2018 
Successful candidates chosen for recommendation to the Chair, by Friday 13 April 2018
Orientation of successful candidates to be advised 
MHA QIP Leadership Group meetings 2018 Wednesday 30th May (29 August, 28 November)

 

 

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Over 14,000 Kiwis set their wheels in motion in Aotearoa Bike Challenge

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Over 14,000 Kiwis set their wheels in motion in Aotearoa Bike Challenge

Throughout the month of February participants made more than 159,000 trips by bike, cycling an impressive 2,156,800 million kilometres in total.

The Aotearoa Bike Challenge is a partnership between the NZ Transport Agency and global organisation Love to Ride. The challenge encourages New Zealanders to make everyday trips by bike, with one 10-minute ride enough to give them the chance to win some great prizes while feeling the benefits of cycling.

“It was great to see so many New Zealanders committed to getting on their bikes this February,” says NZ Transport Agency Senior Manager System Design, Brett Gliddon.

“The challenge is an opportunity for more New Zealanders to experience just how easy it is to incorporate cycling into everyday life and its benefits as a transport option. Getting about by bike is great for your health and wellbeing, it supports communities, often is an efficient way to get around our towns and cities, and for many Kiwis who choose to ride to work, it’s a great way to start and end your day.”

To get more New Zealanders to give cycling a go, workplaces across the country were encouraged to sign up for the challenge and to motivate staff to take part.

Trade Aid Development and Education Manager, Michelia Miles, said the Aotearoa Bike Challenge was a valuable initiative for staff to take part in.

“As an organisation, we feel it is important to encourage our team to get involved in initiatives that benefit their wellbeing and the environment. The Aotearoa Bike Challenge was so fun and easy. It increased staff motivation and built stronger connections amongst the team.”

Fitting cycling in to your everyday routine doesn’t have to be difficult, says Michelia.

“As a mother with a young family I often find it hard to fit in exercise but taking part in the Aotearoa Bike Challenge was an easy way for me to get moving regularly as it only took a 10-minute bike ride to take part.

“Because of the challenge, I’m now getting at least three hours of exercise into my mostly sedentary week. It’s a win-win for both me and the environment, and a habit that I definitely plan on keeping up for the rest of 2018!”

To give riders an extra incentive, there were great prizes up for grabs. The Wattwheels e-bike was won by Elle Heike from Victoria University of Wellington; and the Avanti e-bike was won by Ross Stanley from Xero in Auckland. Hundreds of other prizes including cycling gear, books and vouchers were awarded to participants throughout the challenge.

View all results from the 2018 challenge

Place

Company

Region

Percentage of staff cycling

2000+ staff

1.

Beca

New Zealand

16%

2.

Christchurch City Council

Canterbury

8.7%

3.

University of Auckland

Auckland

5.6%

500 – 1999 staff

1.

Tonkin + Taylor

New Zealand

35%

2.

Greater Wellington Regional Council

Wellington

20%

3.

Palmerston North City Council

Manawatu

17%

200 – 499 staff

1.

Beca Christchurch

Canterbury

41%

2.

Warren and Mahoney

New Zealand

32%

3.

Meridian Energy Christchurch

Canterbury

30%

50 – 199 staff

1.

Laura Fergusson Trust

Wellington

82%

2.

Mercury Rotorua

Bay of Plenty

70%

3.

Tonkin + Taylor Wellington

Wellington

69%

20 – 49 staff

1.

Harbour Sport

Auckland

100%

2.

Tonkin + Taylor Nelson

Nelson

100%

3.

TDG Auckland

Auckland

100%

7 – 19 staff

1.

Southern
Institute of Technology Early Childcare Centre

Southland

100%

2.

Vivian Medical Centre

Taranaki

100%

3.

St John Gisborne

Gisborne

100%

3 – 6 staff

1.

Mosgiel Central Kindergarten

Otago

100%

2.

Warren and Mahoney Tauranga

Bay of Plenty

100%

3.

Van Dyck Fine Foods CRM Team

Taranaki

100%

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SH4 closed between Whanganui and Raetihi

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: SH4 closed between Whanganui and Raetihi

NZTA Regional Transport Systems Manager Ross I’Anson says the potential slip site was identified today during a regularly scheduled geotechnical inspection, and the road has been closed as a precaution while a more detailed inspection is undertaken.

Mr I’Anson says SH4 through the Paraparas has several bluffs along its length, where the material that makes up these areas (papa) is particularly susceptible to weathering. 

“The Transport Agency regularly monitors these bluffs as part of an ongoing geotechnical inspection regime for the road. While it difficult to predict exactly where or when a specific part of the slope may fail due to the unstable nature of papa, our geotechnical experts have advised that the road should be closed as a precaution until a more detailed inspection can be completed at this site.”

A further update will be provided by mid-morning on Tuesday. The road was closed at approximately 5pm Monday.

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Overnight, intermittent closure of Porter River Bridge, State Highway 73, from Monday, 12 March

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Overnight, intermittent closure of Porter River Bridge, State Highway 73, from Monday, 12 March

From next Monday night, 12 March, the bridge will be closed overnight for an hour at a time from 10pm to 6am. It will be opened on the hour, (for example at 11 pm, then at midnight, then 1 am) every hour to clear traffic. The exception will be emergency vehicles which will be helped across the bridge as quickly as possible.  

  • The work will be completed by 26 March, if crews get a run of dry weather. If not, the nights may be extended.
  • The Porter River bridge is about 8kms west of Lake Lyndon, between Lake Lyndon and Castle Hill Village/Cave Stream Scenic Reserve.
  • The work is to repair the bridge deck seals.
  • Electronic signs on State Highway 73 will warn drivers of the intermittent closure from Tuesday, 6 March.

How to stay up to date:

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Completing-the-Census-is-vital-to-help-us-plan-and-fund-your-health-services

Source: Canterbury District Health Board – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Completing-the-Census-is-vital-to-help-us-plan-and-fund-your-health-services

Title: Completing the Census is vital to help us plan and fund your health services
Abstract: ​Completing your Census form and being counted as a Cantabrian is important and will help ensure your DHB is funded correctly. Everybody counts. That’s the message from the Canterbury District Health Board.

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Brazil: Yellow Fever outbreak

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Safe Travel – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Brazil: Yellow Fever outbreak

Yellow fever is an acute viral disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. Infection with the yellow fever virus causes varying degrees of disease, from mild symptoms to severe illness with bleeding and jaundice. About 15% of people infected with yellow fever progress to a severe form of the illness, and half of those will die, as there is no cure for yellow fever.

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Sue loves her job after 40 years service

Source: Tairawhiti District Health – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Sue loves her job after 40 years service

Sue Cranston with her daughters Kylie Dowding and Kimberley Cranston.

After 40 years dedicated service to nursing, many of those years spent supporting children and whānau in Tairāwhiti Sue Cranston still loves her job.

A highlight of Sue’s career has been working in Planet Sunshine and contributing to many improvements to the service. Sue is the Paediatric Quality and Education Coordinator. “I am passionate about improving the quality of care to our children and families and being able to contribute to making improvements for staff. I work with a great team of people who show respect, care and work well together.”

She is known as the lady of the night in reference to her many years of service in Planet Sunshine as a senior night nurse whose calm and caring manner has kept mums, babies and her colleagues safe and reassured.

Sue trained at Christchurch Polytechnic. It was the second year of the “new “ way of training and there was only a choice of Wellington, Christchurch and a new school in Nelson. “I chose Christchurch, learnt to ski and met my husband Andy while down there! Because this was a new way to train nurses we felt we had to prove ourselves against the still active apprenticeship type training.” 

After graduating Sue worked for two years at Waikato Hospital in the surgical and then high dependency wards. “As soon as my two-year bonded period was completed, Andy and I headed off on our OE. We stayed for eight years. I worked in South Africa, London and in Cornwall. We would work for a while, then travel for a while. We visited so many countries including a five-month overland trip through Africa (a travel highlight). We also lived for a year in France.

When we finally returned to New Zealand I was 5 months pregnant. I got a temporary job in Paediatrics until just before Kylie was born. When a night shift job came up a few months later, I applied I have been ever since.” 

I have seen many changes in my time here that make a real difference to the people we care for. We now have different/better models of care, rapidly advancing technology and we work in partnership with whānau who are part of caring for their child. Parents can now stay with their child; homesickness used to be so difficult to deal with in the night. 

Nursing is now a highly qualified profession. Nurses need a Bachelor’s degree and postgraduate education is encouraged. We now have opportunities for nurses to become Nurse Practitioners and now Nurse Prescribers to make the most of their skills. 

“Taking on the quality then the education roles has been a highlight of my career. I am proud of the many improvements I have been a part of. Developing the play specialist service, creating a virtual tour of Planet Sunshine, pain management manuals, Paediatric Early Warning Score charts, entrance art are some of the things that come to mind. 

Sue Cranston’s 40 years dedicated service to nursing and support of the children and whānau in Tairāwhiti was acknowledged recently by Nurses and Midwives of Tairāwhiti (NAMOT). Colleague Natasha Ashworth spoke about Sue’s dedication to other nurses. Sue is not just passionate about the children and whānau in Planet Sunshine but also her nursing colleagues. Sue has been a proponent of nurse education, encouraging nurses to gain postgraduate qualifications as well as organising local education sessions in pain management for the team and wider hospital group. Sue supports the new graduate nurses in their portfolio preparation and with their projects. As Sue is a portfolio assessor she also has the opportunity to encourage nurses across the DHB to work on the quality of their portfolios. This she does in a kind, professional and supportive manner, offering practical feedback and suggestions.

Sue is described as being a role model to all staff both new and old. She role models the WAKA values: showing whakarangatira with her quality work, awhi to nurses across the DHB, kotahitanga as she steps up to Clinical Nurse Manager in Deb McKay’s absence and aroha for the whanau in her care.

Thank you to Sue Cranston for 40 years dedicated service to nursing and support of the children and whanau in Tairawhiti.

Sue is pictured with her daughters Kylie Dowding and Kimberley Cranston.

 

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Build in time through Kawarau Gorge and Haast to Makarora this week as Central Otago summer road sealing is completed

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Build in time through Kawarau Gorge and Haast to Makarora this week as Central Otago summer road sealing is completed

  • Drivers through the Kawarau Gorge this week need to build in an extra 35 minutes with sealing underway while the temperature is warm. 
  • Between Haast and Makarora, drivers should build in an extra 20 minutes.

NZ Transport Agency Central Otago Maintenance Contract Manager Mark Stewart says measures have been put in place to help ensure there isn’t a repeat of the lengthy delays in the Kawarau Gorge which occurred on a recent Friday afternoon, while the Crown Range Road was also closed.  But there will still be delays, so drivers need to be prepared and build in extra time, he says. 

“The Transport Agency thanks all road users for their patience while the last stages of this important work are finished, and for the safety of roads crews, please take care when driving through work sites and stick to the temporary speed limits.” 

Two major road maintenance projects are currently in progress in Central Otago: 

Kawarau Gorge (SH6 between Cromwell and Queenstown): programmed for completion by the end of March.  Sealing is scheduled to start on either Tuesday 6 March or Wednesday 7 March, weather permitting.  Please allow an extra 35 minutes travel time for your trips on this route in the coming week, says Mr Stewart.

http://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/roadworks/198592

Haast Pass (SH6 between Haast and Makarora): programmed for completion by mid to late March.  Delays of up to 20 minutes should be expected during the final stages of this project.

http://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/areawarnings/197409

How to stay up to date:

 

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Minister’s address to the 2018 IFA conference

Source: New Zealand Inland Revenue Department – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Minister’s address to the 2018 IFA conference

The Minister of Revenue, Hon Stuart Nash, spoke at the International Fiscal Association’s conference over the weekend. The Minister focussed on the current priorities facing the Government, particularly measures currently being considered to make the tax system fairer and more business-friendly. For more information see the Minister of Revenue’s speech.

read more

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Do the census, its good for your health

Source: Tairawhiti District Health – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Do the census, its good for your health

Health in Tairāwhiti needs all the funds it can get.

Census day – Tuesday 6 March 2018 – has a big impact on how many health dollars end up in the district. Health funding is population-based. It’s not just the number of people either; older, younger, rural and people on low incomes attract a higher rate of health funding.

This year the census is online. “If a lot of older people don’t complete it, for instance, that will have a significant effect on how much funding we get to provide health services in Tairāwhiti”, says Hauora Tairāwhiti Chief Executive Jim Green.

“The population count for Tairāwhiti in the 2013 census was 43,653, of which 19,683 were Māori. At the time there were closer to 45,000 people enrolled in a Tairāwhiti General Practice. This suggests that around 1500 residents didn’t complete a census or missed out being included in the count. On average each resident is worth approximately $3600 in health dollars. That equates to $5.4 million Tairāwhiti may have missed out on each year since.”

That is a large amount of money for many services we could have provided in the community, in hospital, caring for so many more people.

At the moment we have 47,700 people enrolled with a Tairāwhiti General Practice. National population projections suggest that our population numbers may be closer to 48,700. We really need the Census figures to confirm that significant increase in population. The increase in demand on GPs and Gisborne Hospital suggest that we are serving more people.

“Census data is not only used to determine funding; it is used to help us plan for the future. Having accurate information about our people helps us make decisions about which services are needed and where they should be.”

So please take time to fill out the census and also please make sure family, friends, work mates, everyone you know also helps us to get what we need to make for more and better health care in Tairāwhiti.

All people staying overnight at Gisborne Hospital will be given a paper copy of the census to complete. “We don’t have Wi-Fi on the wards so it would be difficult for many people in hospital to complete online. There will be help from census volunteers to complete the form but friends and family visiting the hospital are asked to assist where possible.”

Do the census at

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