SHE’S new and she’s got ideas.
Barbara Donaldson is one of two newbies elected to Capital and Coast District Health Board –with David Choat. She ranked fourth on the polls behind existing members Judith Aitken, Helene Richie and Margaret Faulkner.
“Which isn’t bad out of 20,” she says with a laugh.
The mother of four grown up children who lives in Porirua decided to stand on the strength of her health background: she’s worked on projects to improve health service in Kazakhstan, Jordan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kashmir; was the accreditation manager for the International Society for Quality in Healthcare for more than 30 countries, she’s a member of the New Zealand Psychological Society and an associate fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Health Management/Australasian College of Health Service Executives. She’s a JP too.
And, as if that isn’t enough, she’s been re-elected to the Greater Wellington Regional Council, which she’s served on since 2007, after previously serving a term in the 90s.
She’s not balking at the size of the task ahead of her, despite her busy schedule; and says that Judith Aitkin and Peter Glensor are also on both the regional council and the DHB.
Her plans for the ailing health board are not small: to protect after hours services, which she says particularly applies to Kenepuru people, who don’t have an emergency after-hours service, to continue and develop preventative care for child health – specifically for rheumatic fever, immunization and dental care - and to ensure home support services for older people are kept as a priority.
She’s aware that the task is huge, given increasing board deficits, the recession, and stricter government policies.
“We just have to keep looking at...better systems.”
She says the budget blow out is “the real problem”.
“It’s a challenge, I realise that, but when you’re deciding on where you’re going to spend the money, you have to have your priorities, don’t you?”
However, she’ll have quite a wait until she can start setting the wheels in motion.
“It’s a bit frustrating because we don’t take office until the 6th of December and the people that haven’t been elected are making the decisions. It’s an interesting situation.”
Donaldson says the board will have quite a job fixing the problems in the ailing health board, which include a $47.5 million deficit in the last financial year, and the loss of its chief executive Ken Whelan, acting chief executive Shaun Drummond, who leaves in January, and the chair John Anderson is going too.
“That’s going to be particularly challenging for a new board.”