The West Coast District Health Board has figured well in the Ministry of Health's third quarter figures on District Health Board performance against the six Government health targets.

The results are very pleasing with the West Coast District Health Board showing improvement from those of last quarter however there is still room for improvement. The results are indicative of the hard work of staff to ensure that West Coasters fare well in the Government health targets.

Our performance for Shorter stays in Emergency Departments continues to have the West Coast District Health Board leading the country and Better help for Smokers to Quit, nationally ranked second, has a real upturn as the new processes and procedures now see staff incorporating cessation advice in their treatment of smokers.

The District Health Board is exceeding its volume target of patients in Improved access to elective surgery. The fact that the West Coast already has one of the highest intervention rates for elective surgery was reported in the Dominion Post where the West Coast was seen as the best place in the country to receive surgery in the three of the five reported elective procedures (hip replacements, knee replacements and cataract surgery).

The performance against the Shorter waits for Cancer Therapy Radiotherapy target reflects that all patients were able to have their treatment within the desired time.

Increased immunisation for two-year olds is a continuing focus of primary health care providers. The improvement in this area reflects the efforts that primary care providers and the outreach immunisation service are making to ensure all two year olds have the opportunity to be fully immunised.

The improved result in the Better Diabetes and Cardiovascular Services target reflects the ongoing good work being carried out on the West Coast by General Practitioners and nurses at primary healthcare practices, along with the local cancer team, the West Coast Primary Health Organisation and the District Health Board.