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CDHB Management, Governance & Partnership

Each District Health Board has up to 11 members, either elected or appointed by the Minister of Health by notice in the Gazette for terms of up to three years. Appointed members of the Board are eligible for reappointment unless they have served consecutively for six years, in which case they must not be reappointed immediately without consent from the Minister of Health. Such reappointment must only be for another three years.

The Minister decides who to appoint as a DHB board member by considering the mix of skills and backgrounds of the elected members to the boards, identifying the gaps, and endeavouring to fill these with people known to have the required attributes and backgrounds. The Ministry may also use the appointment process to balance ethnicity, gender and age on the board. The Minister of Health appoints one member as Chairperson and one member as Deputy Chairperson. These people may have been either elected or appointed to the board.

Once a candidate to a DHB board is elected (or appointed) they are required to disclose any interests in transactions of the board, and in some circumstances not to take part in the deliberations of the board in relation to the conflict of interests (Clause 36, Schedule 3 of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000). The disclosure of this conflict must be recorded in the minutes of the board and entered in a separate interests register.

The Board

Board members are responsible for the governance of the District Health Board (DHB). They must together work in a financially responsible manner and in the best interest of the health of the whole population of the DHB to achieve the objectives of the DHB and to meet the requirements of the Minister of Health. Governance, as executed by the DHB board, is strategic oversight of the management of the entity to ensure it delivers on its fundamental objective of working within allocated resources to improve, promote and protect the health of a defined population, and to promote the independence of people with disabilities within a defined population. Board members do not manage the DHB. The DHB Board is required, under the Act, to appoint a chief executive to take responsibility for management matters. The Board does not have a role in employment decisions beyond the appointment of the Chief Executive and by law cannot interfere in matters relating to individual employees.

DHB board members are accountable to the Minister of Health, (through the Chairperson of the Board) for the performance of the DHB.

Boards fees are set by the Minister of Health and are publicly available on the Ministry of Health website www.moh.govt.nz.

Board meetings are open to the public, who are able to observe but not participate in meetings. The rules around when the public is able to attend DHB Board meetings are similar to those that apply to Local Government meetings. Although some parts of the meeting may need to be closed to the public this occurs only for specific reasons.

DHBs are required under the NZ Public Health and Disability Act 2000 to have three advisory committees. These committees provide a key means for community voices to be heard.

They are the:

Community and Public Health & Disability Support Advisory Committee – containing Community and Public Health and Disability Support Advisory Committee (CPHDSAC) member profiles, agendas, minutes and meetings dates
Hospital Advisory Committee – A statutory governance role in monitoring the financial and operational performance of the hospitals the Canterbury DHB owns, as well as assessing strategic issues relating to the provision of hospital services; gives the Board advice and recommendations on that monitoring and assessment.

The Canterbury DHB has combined both these committees into the Community and Public Health and Disability Support Advisory Committee.

The DHB has also created another Advisory Committee that provides the Board with an assessment of the financial performance, risk and management controls of the organisation

Quality, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee – Focus is strong governance oversight of the financial health of the Canterbury DHB.

DHB boards appoint members to their committees. The committees comprise both board members and members of the public. The members of the public are usually appointed following publicly invited nominations.

The Chief Executive and Executive Management Team

The Chief Executive and Executive Management Team are responsible for the management matters of the District Health Board (DHB). They must together work in a financially responsible manner and in the best interest of the health of the whole population of the DHB to achieve objectives of the DHB and to meet the requirements of the Board. The Board does not have a role in employment decisions beyond the appointment of the Chief Executive and by law cannot interfere in matters relating to individual employees.

The Executive Management Team report directly to the CEO who in turn is accountable to the Chair of the District Health Board.

What about Maori partnership?

The Treaty of Waitangi places obligations on the DHB as a Crown Entity. The three principles of partnership, participation and protection apply in managing the board.