Darfi eld Ho spit al Upd at e

Canterbury District Health Board (DHB) will reopen Oxford Rural Community Hospital in mid-June. The Oxford fac ility will reopen first because the re is limited capacity in other aged ca re settings in Oxford. The major ity of the res idents ar e f rom this facility, and there is staff capacity in Oxford to provide care for the seven residents who wish to return. In the districts that surround Waikari, Ellesmere and Darfi eld rural community hospitals, there are beds available in other local aged residential care fac ilities, and until we have sufficient staff to ensure the safe and appropriate ca re of thei r residents, their reopening will unfortunately be further delayed. We continue to see widespread and elevated Covid-19 infection rates among our staff and our Canterbury community, including in the a reas affected by these temporary closures. Residents were relocated to other facilities because Canterbury DHB could not guarantee staffing levels, that would enable these rural community hospitals and local aged care fa cilities to provide safe a nd appropri ate ca re. The current circumstanc es require a discussion with our rural communities on how we might deliver an improved mix of services in these rur al areas , that makes the best possible use of our resources and allows some services to be provided closer to home. Canterbury DHB is committed to investing in rural communities and wants to work in partnership with them, and our staff, who know their communities best, to develop a future service model based on modern, evidencebased practice. A working group comprising of clinical and oper ational staff, together with community representation, will be convened to develop a proposal on a possible future model of care in these communities. We are a iming to share the proposal in three to five weeks. We will then be looking for feedback, in itially from staff. There will also be a process for listening to the views of the current residents and their families, and later the wider community. In the meantime, our focus will be on ensuring a smooth and welcoming return home for the seven residents coming ba ck to the Oxford Community Hospital.

Becky Hickmott, Executive Director of Nursing, Canterbury and West Coast District Health Board.

Min Cookson,

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