Canterbury Health System Earthquake Memories, Story 34: Health through hum…
Articles, UC QuakeStudies
An earthquake memories story from Alistair Humphrey, Medical Officer of Health, Community and Public Health, titled, "Health through humour".
An earthquake memories story from Alistair Humphrey, Medical Officer of Health, Community and Public Health, titled, "Health through humour".
An earthquake memories story from Paul Schoolderman, Health Protection Officer, Community and Public Health, titled, "Surfing on asphalt".
An earthquake memories story from Denise Tully, Health Protection Officer, Community and Public Health, titled, "Sense finally prevailed".
When the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes struck, the region was hit with disaster on an unprecedented scale and the health system was challenged like never before. The injured needed immediate treatment, buildings and equipment were badly damaged, and yet those working in health system rallied to keep it going. Emergency Medicine specialist Dr Mike Ardagh and independent science writer Dr Joanne Deely have written a book, Rising from the Rubble, which tells the stories of those who were part of the health system response, and a record of the long-term issues that have been caused by it.
An earthquake memories story from Debbie Smith, Health Protection Officer, Community and Public Health, titled, "Long road to recovery".
An earthquake memories story from Malcolm Walker, Health Protection Officer, Community and Public Health, titled, "Suddenly the screaming started".
An earthquake memories story from Judy Williamson, Health Protection Officer, Community and Public Health, titled, "Not just another one".
An earthquake memories story from Evon Currie, General Manager, Population and Public Health, titled, "Understanding structure vital".
An earthquake memories story from Sarah Carnoutsos, Canterbury Health Laboratories Community Liaison Representative, titled, "Tears of relief".
An earthquake memories story from Vivien Daley, Smokefree Manager, Community and Public Health, titled, "Staunch and determined".
A video of a presentation by David Meates, Chief Executive of the Christchurch District Health Board and the West Coast District Health Board, during the first plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. The presentation is titled, "Local System Perspective".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: The devastating Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 have resulted in challenges for the people of Canterbury and have altered the population's health needs. In the wake of New Zealand's largest natural disaster, the health system needed to respond rapidly to changing needs and damaged infrastructure in the short-term in the context of developing sustainable long-term solutions. Canterbury was undergoing system transformation prior to the quakes, however the horizon of transformation was brought forward post-quake: 'Vision 2020' became the vision for now. Innovation was enabled as people working across the system addressed new constraints such as the loss of 106 acute hospital beds, 635 aged residential care beds, the loss of general practices and pharmacies as well as damaged non-government organisation sector. A number of new integration initiatives (e.g. a shared electronic health record system, community rehabilitation for older people, community falls prevention) and expansion of existing programs (e.g. acute demand management) were focused on supporting people to stay well in their homes and communities. The system working together in an integrated way has resulted in significant reductions in acute health service utilisation in Canterbury. Acute admission rates have not increased and remain significantly below national rates and the number of acute and rehabilitation bed days have fallen since the quakes, with these trends most evident among older people. However, health needs frequently reported in post-disaster literature have created greater pressures on the system. In particular, an escalating number of people facing mental health problems and coping with acute needs of the migrant rebuild population provide new challenges for a workforce also affected by the quakes. The recovery journey for Canterbury is not over.
An earthquake memories story from Kevin Taylor, Quality and Business Development Labs Management, Canterbury Health Laboratories, titled, "Operated 24/7".
An earthquake memories story from Susan Kovacs, Mental Health GP Liaison, Rural Canterbury Primary Health Organisation, titled, "We watched it all unfolding".
An earthquake memories story from Howard Wilson, General Practitioner for Akaroa Health Centre, titled, "Adrenalin just kicked in".
An earthquake memories story from Jan Bone, Medical Specialist, Emergency Department, Christchurch Hospital, titled, "Terrible injuries".
An earthquake memories story from Niall Hamilton, Medical Registrar, Christchurch Hospital, titled, "An unforgettable day".
An earthquake memories story from Rex de Ryke, Charge Sonographer, Radiology Service, titled, "A sonographer's story".
An earthquake memories story from Chris Drennan, Respiratory Services Physician, Christchurch Hospital, titled, "Staff absolutely focussed".
An earthquake memories story from Karen Carson, Team Leader Telephone Service, Christchurch Hospital, titled, "Masses of people".
An earthquake memories story from Karen Wilson, Charge Nurse Manager, Ward 10, Christchurch Hospital, titled, "This is bad".
An earthquake memories story from Pauline Michel, Receptionist/Clerical Worker, Physiotherapy Department, Christchurch Hospital, titled, "Instinct kicked in".
An earthquake memories story titled, "Community pharmacies push on through".
An earthquake memories story from Warren Campbell-Trotter, Nurse Coordinator (Quality and Risk), Hillmorton Hospital, titled, "An earthquake experience".
An earthquake memories story from Alan Bavis, Facilities and Engineering Manager, 33 St Asaph Street, titled, "Big team effort".
An earthquake memories story from Rob Handley, titled, "English medic helps out".
An earthquake memories story from Phil Schroeder, General Practitioner at Rolleston, titled, "A very sobering thought".
An earthquake memories story from David Hiddlestone and Alan Heney, Christchurch Hospital Orderlies, titled, "Proud of my team".
An earthquake memories story from Justin Roake, Pete Laws, and Adib (Eddie) Khanafer, Vascular Surgeons, Christchurch Hospital, titled, "Whole country pulled together".
An earthquake memories story from Lev Zhurasky, Charge Nurse Manager, titled, "Ward 29 a huge mess".
An earthquake memories story from Josie Butler, student nurse, titled, "Student nurse on a mission".