MidCentral District Health Board

MidCentral District Health Board is a district health board that provides healthcare in the Manawatū region of New Zealand. The DHB covers the Manawatu District, Palmerston North City, Tararua District, Horowhenua District, and the Ōtaki ward of the Kapiti Coast District.
History.
The MidCentral 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.
Geographic area.
The area covered by the MidCentral 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.
Facilities.
Palmerston North Hospital is the DHB's main hospital, and serves as the major trauma centre for the DHB area.
Governance.
The initial board was fully appointed. Since the 2001 local elections, the board has been partially elected (seven members) 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.
The current board was sworn in on 9 December 2019, following the 2019 local elections. Brendan Duffy, a former mayor of the Horowhenua District, chairs the board.
Demographics.
The MidCentral DHB area had a population of 174,993 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 12,429 people (7.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 16,152 people (10.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 85,575 males and 89,415 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.957 males per female. Of the total population, 34,602 people (19.8%) were aged up to 15 years, 35,463 (20.2%) were 15 to 29, 73,803 (42.2%) were 30 to 64, and 31,122 (17.8%) were 65 or older.
In terms of ethnicity, 75.9% of the population identified as European (Pākehā), 20.6% as Māori, 4.4% as Pacific peoples, 7.5% as Asian, 0.95 as Middle Eastern/Latin American/African and 1.5% as other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
Of those aged 15 and over, 14.9% of people in MidCentral stated they were regular cigarette smokers. This was down from 16.9% at the 2013 census and 22.7% at the 2006 census.