Ginny's Corner

Hope for the best but prepare for the worst - Benjamin Disraeli

Flooding

It’s been well known for a long time that Lindsay Creek that runs behind North Road is a flood risk. So on the 4th of October the well planned red Emergency/Disaster Management folders were put to good use when Dunedin and other surrounding areas were declared in a State of Local Emergency due to heavy rainfall. No sooner had the last new carpet tile been laid when we got the phone call from Civil Defence telling us to evacuate. Having a well organised plan, a great relationship with Mercy and unfortunately a bit of experience with evacuation, meant the plan was executed smoothly. It’s at times like this that all the work gone into ‘preparing for the worst’ becomes invaluable.  Thankfully, Lindsay Creek didn’t burst its banks and the new carpet tiles remained dry!

Cyber Security

We have been working on a plan for improving our computer systems and security and while a lot can be done by computer systems to reduce the likelihood of cyber-crime, 88% of all data breaches are caused by an employee mistake. During New Zealand’s Cyber Security Awareness Week Dali, our new IT Administrator, was tasked with getting all our employees aware of cyber security risk, and how many of you were RickRoll’D by my scam IRD email?! As a health organisation, Hospice has particularly sensitive information so it is imperative we all work together to keep not only our data, but also our reputation, secure. Employee awareness is just one part to the greater cyber security plan and ultimately, so that we are ‘prepared for the worst’, we are also working towards having a response plan to any potential cyber security breach.

Funding

Since around 2022 Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora has been operating through a regional division model and they are now starting to communicate expectations for Hospices to be organised and collaborating regionally.  Rather than waiting for Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora to prescribe to Hospices how the regional collaboration model should work, the South Island Hospices are already working towards a formal collaboration to plan the best way forward for the Hospices as a South Island regional group.  With the continued ‘squeeze’ on health funding, Hospices are also expected to provide data, demonstrating the value and social impact they have on the palliative care sector and the value they add to the wider health sector. For several years now Hospice New Zealand has been collecting national data and each year the robustness and validity of the data has been improving. This last year they have been working hard on the quality of output and are working towards having confidence in being able to release results to external parties. Having a plan to stay ahead of changes will put Hospices in a better position to help control the future direction of the sector.