New Southern District Health Board members have been told they may need to spend time on the wards with staff to learn about the reality of the health sector.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) director Graham Jelley was speaking at the board meeting in Invercargill, where he updated members on work under way to improve board members' decision-making and quality of governance.
The item was initially pegged for discussion in the public-excluded part of the meeting, but chairman Joe Butterfield shifted it into the open session.
The business services company is undertaking a wide-ranging review of reporting procedures to ensure the board gets the right information to make decisions.
While it is trying to help the board avoid another financial blow-out, such as last year's unaudited $13.2 million deficit, PWC is seeking to improve overall health service quality.
Thursday's update focused on non-financial aspects.
One suggestion was that new members, especially those without a health background, spend time in the emergency department, or other hospital wards, as part of their induction.
The board needed to be more focused on the patient experience, members heard.
The board must learn to better manage information and reporting, using planned special "deep dives" into issues, as well as regular reporting of data.
The idea was to be well informed, but not overwhelmed.
Communication between managers and board members must improve, too.
The system of delegation to health committees, such as the hospital advisory committee, should be overhauled, to ensure full board meetings were kept for high-level decision-making.
Board member Richard Thomson, who has been vocal in decrying a lack of proper information to board members, was "very happy" with PWC's suggestions.
"I know I've moaned a lot," he said.
However, he took issue with some recent changes in reporting, including data which did not separate the performance of Southland and Dunedin Hospitals.
This risked disguising under-performing areas, a concern which Mr Butterfield also held.
Deputy chairman Paul Menzies said it was a difficult issue, because it was important to send a strong signal the DHB operated as one, and joint reports helped do that.
