MDHB patient ‘Treated like Royalty’ in Wanganui Hospital

06/04/2011 | MDHB Patients receive care at Wanganui Hospital

A MidCentral District Health Board patient, one of around 100 women so far offered clinical care including surgery, at Wanganui Hospital, feels she was ‘treated with respect and dignity’ on the day.

Levin resident Jo McLeod had a medical procedure at Wanganui Hospital about ten weeks ago and found it ‘a great experience’.

“I felt respected and very well looked after.” Mrs McLeod said: “They were lovely people. The specialist and nursing staff were all wonderful.”

On the public waiting list for more than a year, Mrs McLeod jumped at the chance to have the procedure performed sooner in Whanganui.

“I’d been told a few things about Wanganui Hospital, but when I went for my pre-op the day before my surgery it checked out as being accommodating and clean.  If WDHB continue with this service for MDHB patients it will be great for the waiting lists. I would recommend it to other women to take up the offer.

“If people didn’t have a very good experience they would have to look at themselves. As a day patient the follow-up was great with the nurse ringing me the next morning to see how I was.”

The Whanganui specialist saw Mrs McLeod at MDHB who was operated on two to three weeks later. She travelled to Whanganui for the pre-assessment one day, and the next day had the procedure. Mrs McLeod said it would have been helpful to have had the pre-op and the procedure on the same day, but she understood this was not an option with some procedures. Her follow-up care is being provided through her GP.

During the past six months, 54 women have already had their surgery and 21 women are booked for surgery in April. A total of 34 women are waiting for a surgery date, while others on the list have been seen and offered other treatment options, or no longer require surgery.

For two years, the two DHBs have been implementing a shared regional women’s health service under the centralAlliance. This development, led by Regional Women’s Health Clinical Director Dr Digby Ngan Kee, has strengthened both hospitals’ ability to provide women’s health services in a timely manner.

The joint service shares common quality standards and clinical processes with the credentialing, supervision and on-going professional development of the medical staff all under the management of Dr Ngan Kee and his team.

In order to increase the level of elective surgery over what was achieved in 2009/10, the Ministry of Health offered MDHB additional ‘one off’ funding for its population for 2010/11. This funding was made available to WDHB to offer MDHB women’s health patients the opportunity to have their surgery undertaken at Wanganui Hospital sooner. The offer took advantage of the spare theatre, surgeon and anaesthetist time that was available at Wanganui Hospital.

Contacts: Whanganui District Health Board Senior Communications & Media Advisor Susan Campion, telephone (06) 348 3170; or MidCentral District Health Board Communications spokesperson Dennis Geddis (06) 350-8900.