About SDHB
Southland District Health Board (Southland DHB) is the Government-funded organisation responsible for most public health and hospital services in the Southland region of New Zealand. We are one of 21 district health boards that were established nationally on January 1, 2001 under the NZ Public Health and Disability Act 2000 (NZPHD). Southland DHB has a staff of approximately 1400 and is governed by a Board made up of both publicly elected and government appointed members. The Board is accountable to the Minister of Health. As a DHB, we are responsible for planning, funding and providing health and disability services to a population of approximately 107,000 located in the lower South Island of New Zealand, encompassing Invercargill City, Queenstown, Gore and rural Southland. We receive government funding of approximately NZ$250 million per annum, of which approximately 50% is applied to traditional hospital and mental health services delivered from Southland Hospital (Invercargill) and Lakes District Hospital (Queenstown). These services are managed and delivered through our own facilities and staff, collectively known as the 'Provider Arm'. The remaining 50% of our funding is distributed and monitored by our 'Planning and Funding Arm' through contracts with a range of other community health providers, such as Primary Health Organisations (general practices), pharmacies, laboratories, aged residential care facilities, Pacific Island and Maori Health providers, non-governmental mental health services, rural hospitals and primary maternity facilities. Our statutory purpose is to:
For further information and frequently asked questions about District Health Boards, please see the Ministry of Health’s website. |