Monday 3 September 2018
On Tuesday 31 July I attended a talk by Kathy Grant, Southern District Health Board Commissioner, to the Institute of Directors. Kathy explained the importance of a value system providing the basis for change for the Southern District Health Board. It was no secret that at the time when she became the Commissioner of the Southern District Health Board, the DHB had a huge deficit which was under scrutiny all the time. The Commissioner’s team had to turn around the culture and thinking from an understandably defensive mentality to a positive and forward looking mentality. “Sustainability” was developed after consultation as the value for a new framework of engagement. This allows the DHB to focus on a much longer term programme for real solutions rather than short term fixes which may, in the long term, cost a lot more. It also allows communities to be engaged, and patients and clinicians to be directly involved in the change. I felt very inspired by the talk. It shows that in every single part of life, it is values that drive what we do.
KEYWORDS: Commissioner, sustainability, Southern District Health Board, patients, clinicians
