Wairarapa District Health Board


The Wairarapa District Health Board was a district health board that provided healthcare to the Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa districts of New Zealand. In July 2022, the Wairarapa DHB was merged into the national health service Te Whatu Ora.

History

The Wairarapa District Health Board, like most other district health boards, came into effect on 1 January 2001 established by the New Zealand [Public Health and Disability Act 2000].
The Wairarapa DHB was the last DHB in New Zealand to operate its own ambulance service. In March 2012, the ambulance service was outsourced to Wellington Free Ambulance.
On 1 July 2022, the Waikato DHB and the other 19 district health boards were disestablished, with Te Whatu Ora assuming their former functions and operations including hospitals and health services. The Waikato DHB was brought under Te Whatu Ora's Te Manawa Taki division.

Geographic area

The area covered by the Wairarapa District Health Board is defined in Schedule 1 of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 and based on territorial authority and ward boundaries as constituted as at 1 January 2001. The area can be adjusted through an Order in Council.

Governance

The initial board was fully appointed. Since the 2001 local elections, the board has been partially elected and in addition, up to four members get appointed by the Minister of Health. The minister also appoints the chairperson and deputy-chair from the pool of eleven board members.

Board chairs

Since its establishment in 2001, the Wairarapa District Health Board has had four chairs. The following is a complete list:
NameTermNotes
1Doug Matheson2001–2006
2Bob Francis2006–2013
3Derek Milne2013–2016
4Paul Collins2016–present

Demographics

Wairarapa DHB served a population of 45,327 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 4,215 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 6,714 people since the 2006 census. There were 17,913 households. There were 22,164 males and 23,163 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female. The median age was 45.0 years, with 8,628 people aged under 15 years, 6,966 aged 15 to 29, 19,995 aged 30 to 64, and 9,744 aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 87.5% European/Pākehā, 18.0% Māori, 3.1% Pacific peoples, 3.2% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 14.7, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 52.1% had no religion, 36.2% were Christian, 0.5% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 2.8% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 6,441 people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 8,022 people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $29,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 5,205 people earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 17,151 people were employed full-time, 5,955 were part-time, and 1,179 were unemployed.

Hospitals

Public hospitals