Better, sooner, more convenient health care in Midlands

7 Delivering on health targetsOlder PeopleHealth targetThere are currently no health targets that all DHBs collectively work towards.Current performanceOlder people access healthcare predominantly through Primary Care Services if living in their ownhome and by primary care visitors for both routine and acute care if in rest homes.Primary care visits for older people are often pre-booked up to three months in advance. Olderpeople often have a mindset that they don’t access General Practitioner services before this routineappointment, regardless of worsening health symptoms. They arrive with a shopping list of ailmentsand expect to address them all in the one appointment. There is another group who enjoy their visitsto the General Practice to such an extent they become ‘frequent flyers’.There are a wide range of support services in most communities, but they are often disconnectedfrom primary care and older people and their families are unsure how to access them. GeneralPractitioners often don’t know what services are available and locating and coordinating them istime consuming.Rest Homes suffer from a lack of qualified clinical staff. Large numbers of the workforce are nonregulated,low paid and have varying skill levels. They rely on an already stretched primary careworkforce for both routine and acute care which is only available 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.For older people who become unwell outside normal business hours the only option available torest home staff is to ring the ambulance and transfer to secondary services. Ambulance services areadditionally stretched with medical alarm call outs for older people living alone for which there is noalternative triage service.Needs projectionsTotal WDHB TDHB TDH LDHBCurrent Older People Population65+65157 41004 14995 5145 4053Estimated Older People Populationin 20 years time 65+81240 52448 16668 7091 5033Current Older People EnrolledPopulation 65+ (Pinnacle only)56522 40643 7634 3872 4372Regional PromisesTo the older population of MidlandsPromise 10:Promise 11:As an older person living in Midlands you will have a goal focused CareManagement Plan.As an older person living in Midlands you will have single point access for allyour healthcare needs.109