The Waikato District Health Board is leading the way in a national initiative to improve the amount of time nurses have to spend with patients.

The national programme called Releasing Time to Care: The Productive Ward streamlines ward process and frees up caregivers for more direct patient care.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman. Photo: File

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says patients in mental health wards are the latest to benefit from an initiative that frees up staff to spend more time looking after patients.

'Waikato DHB mental health wards improved time spent on direct patient care as a result of a range of changes,” says Jonathan. 'Including ensuring equipment is conveniently located and patient information is easily accessible.”

Seventeen DHBs are implementing one or more of the Productive Series programmes including the Productive Ward, the Productive Mental Health Ward, the Productive Community Services, and the Productive Operating Theatre.

Jonathan says the programmes guide staff to review and change the way they work, plus help improve quality of care and staff morale.

'The success of the Productive Ward programme in hospitals is being extended to some of our largest mental health units. The Productive Series is making a quantifiable difference.

'For example, in a Hawke's Bay specialist surgery unit, a new more focused user-friendly nursing admission form is expected to save 267 hours of nursing time a year.”