From L-R: Dr Simon Wynn Thomas, Fiona Blair-Heslop, Dr Susan Gordon, Dr Ramon Pink, Jacqui Lawson, Dr Ben Hudson
Chair's report
SIMON WYNN-THOMAS, CHAIR
PEGASUS HEALTH CLINICAL BOARD
It has been a pleasure to become Chair of the Clinical Board this year. The calibre of the board members is amazing and I am certain there is potential for the Clinical Board to be even more effective in improving health outcomes for Canterbury people.
Our Clinical Board members have clinical backgrounds and governance skills that equip them well for their role. Their expertise covers General Practice, practice nursing, pharmacy, rural health, population health and academic General Practice.
Heading into the next year, the Board's efforts will continue to focus on clinical quality. This year has been spent grappling with how to define and measure clinical quality in the complex primary healthcare system. Improving equity in healthcare between Māori and non-Māori remains a major focus.
The Board self appraisal this year has given us a renewed sense of purpose and we will continue aiming to move from a reactive to proactive approach.
This year, we have been supporting Pegasus Health to help members achieve the upcoming Foundation Standard, which represents the minimum legal, professional and regulatory requirements for General Practice. It will be a challenge to ensure that all practices achieve this by 1 July 2016. There are some 65 Canterbury practices that still need to complete the Foundation Standard, but with Pegasus Health starting early in providing support, General Practices are in a good position to meet the timeframe.
It has been a pleasure this year working alongside the Pegasus Health Community Board, particularly around the measures that can be taken to tackle childhood obesity. In future, this will involve liaising with other organisations and joining them in their advocacy roles.
A fruitful 2016 for the Clinical Board would include successfully implementing projects to curb childhood obesity and introducing a meaningful clinical quality account.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge Helen Rogers for her administrative support, Andrew Hornblow (Chair of the Community Board) for his involvement, the Pegasus Health executive team and, in particular, Ramai Lord for supporting the board.