Southern District Health Board

What Southern District Health Board does

Southern District Health Board (Southern DHB) is a New Zealand government-owned public healthcare authority responsible for planning, funding, and delivering health and disability services to the Otago and Southland regions in the southern South Island. It operates a network of six public hospitals — Dunedin Hospital (tertiary with emergency department and tertiary birthing unit), Southland Hospital (secondary), Wakari Hospital (mental health), Oamaru Hospital, Maniototo Hospital, and Lakes District Hospital — alongside community health, mental health and addiction, maternity, immunisation, and disability services. Following the July 2022 New Zealand health system reform, Southern DHB was disestablished as a standalone entity and became a regional division of Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, the single national Crown entity that replaced all 20 former District Health Boards.

The organisation's technology footprint centres on national digital health infrastructure rather than proprietary platforms: the My Health Record patient portal, the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR) for vaccination tracking, GP2GP for electronic record transfer between providers, and telehealth services including 24/7 Healthline phone advice, 24/7 Online GP Care video consultations, and the Ka Ora Telecare after-hours service for rural communities. There is no proprietary software product or commercial AI component described; the stack is standard public-sector health IT.

Southern DHB is funded entirely through the New Zealand Ministry of Health via taxation under a publicly funded universal healthcare model. Services are provided free or at heavily subsidised rates to eligible residents, with zero fees for children under 14. Customer segments span the general population, pregnant women, rural communities, mental health patients, Deaf and disabled people, and children. Strategic partners include Hato Hone St John (ambulance services), Wellington Free Ambulance (inter-regional transfers), Healthpoint (provider directory), and local charitable trusts.

Name

Southern District Health Board

Legal name

Southern District Health Board

Website

https://southernhealth.nz

Company type

Public

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Southern District Health Board is a New Zealand government public healthcare authority delivering hospital, community, mental health, maternity, and telehealth services to the Otago and Southland population. Since 2022 it operates as a regional division of Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Healthcare Services

NAICS

Health Care and Social Assistance (62), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-General Medical & Surgical Hospitals, Nec (8062), Services-Hospitals (8060)

akta.pro primary industry

Community & Regional General Hospitals (HLAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Safety-Net & Public Hospitals (HLAFAAAD), Public/County Primary Care Clinics (HLAFAGAI)

Keywords

• Public hospital services
• Emergency healthcare
• Community health services
• Mental health services
• Telehealth services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dunedin

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Healthcare Funding: Government-funded healthcare services provided free or at subsidised rates to eligible New Zealand residents through the public health system, funded via taxation

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Southern District Health Board plans, funds, and delivers publicly funded health and disability services for the Otago and Southland districts of New Zealand. Its core offering comprises secondary and tertiary hospital care through Dunedin Hospital and Southland Hospital, alongside community, mental health, maternity, immunisation, and rural telehealth services (Healthline, Online GP Care, Ka Ora Telecare), delivered free or at subsidised rates to eligible residents.

Product overview

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora operates the Southern District Health Board covering Otago and Southland regions. The organization provides a network of hospitals including Dunedin Hospital (tertiary with emergency department), Southland Hospital (secondary), and smaller rural hospitals (Wakari, Oamaru, Maniototo, Lakes District). The service portfolio includes telehealth offerings (Healthline 24/7 phone advice, Online GP Care video appointments, Ka Ora Telecare for rural communities), community immunisation clinics, mental health and addiction services, and maternity services. Digital health tools include the Aotearoa Immunisation Register (AIR), GP2GP record transfer system, and My Health Record personal health portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dunedin Hospital Public hospital delivering secondary and tertiary (including emergency) inpatient and outpatient care for the Otago catchment; available free or at subsidised rates to eligible New Zealand residents and children under 14.
• Southland Hospital (Kew Hospital) Public hospital serving the Southland community as the second anchor hospital in the SDHB network, providing inpatient, emergency, and outpatient services for eligible residents.
• Community health and mental health services Community-based clinical and mental health services delivered across Otago and Southland for residents needing non-hospital care, including mental health support and allied community health input.
• Immunisation services Provision of publicly funded childhood and adult immunisations, integrated with the National Immunisation Register (AIR), enabling patient access to records via the My Health Record portal.
• Healthline (telehealth clinical advice) 24/7 telephone-based clinical advice line offered as part of the telehealth portfolio, providing triage and health advice to residents of Otago and Southland.
• Online GP Care Online GP consultation service offering virtual primary-care appointments accessible to patients in the SDHB catchment.
• Ka Ora Telecare (rural after-hours telehealth) After-hours telehealth service delivered with a network of more than 30 GPs, providing rural and remote Otago and Southland residents with phone- and video-based clinical consults.
• Video and phone-based clinical consultations Virtual clinical consultations provided by phone or video to patients across the Otago and Southland catchment as an alternative to in-person visits.

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hato Hone St JohncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmbulance service partnership providing emergency medical response and transport across Otago and Southland. St John paramedics assess and treat patients on scene and transport to hospital when needed. Volunteer ambulance officers and first responders support smaller communities.
• Wellington Free AmbulanceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmergency ambulance service partnership for Wellington region, with coordinated air ambulance services for critical patient transfers across New Zealand including Otago and Southland.
• HealthpointminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExternal health directory partner providing information about healthcare providers, pharmacies, emergency departments, and after-hours medical centres to help patients find appropriate care.
• Local Trust and FoundationsminorOthersLocal charitable trusts and foundations that manage donations and bequests to health organisations, supporting health projects and education in the region.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/southerndhb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern District Health Board