Dr Nigel Millar

Dr Nigel Millar has been Chief Medical Officer for the Canterbury District Health Board for nearly ten years. During this time, he has participated in a transformational change to a smooth and efficient, integrated and connected health system. A Geriatrician and Internal Medicine Physician by training in Newcastle in the UK, he arrived in Christchurch in 1992. Here, he writes about the health reforms that were taking place at the time of the earthquakes and the impact the natural disasters had in accelerating the pace of change…

In New Zealand, as in Europe, we are facing challenges around the sustainability of our healthcare system as budgetary pressures take hold and demand on services increases. Finding efficiencies has become central to the delivery of the high quality care for which New Zealand has become renowned. International studies link our success to effective coordination of care, a patient-centred focus where services are wrapped around the patient and the early adoption of technology. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Canterbury region, where we are refocusing our healthcare services around the patient pathway.