One System
How relationships based on trust and a shared purpose transformed Canterbury's health system
$39.19
- Paperback
290 pages
- Release Date
19 October 2026
Summary
Across the world, organisations and public systems are under strain - facing rising demand, constrained resources and reforms that seldom deliver lasting improvement.
One System tells the inside story of a rare exception.
Over more than a decade, Canterbury radically reimagined how its health system could work. The aim was simple: to act as one system, organised around people rather than institutions.
This new way of working was tested under the most difficult…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781988503561 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1988503566 |
| Author: | David Meates, Carolyn Gullery |
| Publisher: | Canterbury University Press |
| Imprint: | Canterbury University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 290 |
| Release Date: | 19 October 2026 |
| Weight: | 340g |
| Dimensions: | 20mm x 140mm x 215mm |
Critics Review
“Many books, articles and reports have been written about the transformation of health care organisations but few by those responsible for leading this work. David Meates and Carolyn Gullery are among those few, having been at the heart of the transformation of Canterbury District Health Board in Christchurch, New Zealand. […] While it is rooted in a particular time and place, Canterbury’s story has international resonance. Health systems everywhere face the challenge of ageing populations, the changing burden of disease and constrained resources. Their central challenge is how to transform legacy systems into care that is fit for the future. This book offers hope by showing what is possible when leadership is distributed, improvement is grounded in people and relationships, and change is approached not as a project but as a continuous, shared endeavour.” – Taken from the Foreword by Professor Sir Chris Ham
David Meates
David Meates MNZM is an internationally recognised health system leader and former Chief Executive of the Canterbury and West Coast District Health Boards. Over more than a decade, with responsibility for a workforce of 18,000 people, he led the transformation of the Canterbury Health System from a mix of fragmented services into an integrated system organised around people, shared purpose and collective responsibility. David now advises boards and leaders across sectors on governance, leadership and how to achieve lasting change in complex systems.
Carolyn Gullery is a New Zealand health system leader and strategist in service redesign and commissioning who has gained international recognition. When she was Executive Director of Planning, Funding and Decision Support for the Canterbury and West Coast District Health Boards, she was accountable for a $1.8 billion annual budget and designed the alliancing, funding and information foundations on which the transformation of the Canterbury Health System depended. Carolyn now advises health systems and organisations around the world on analytics, commissioning and integrated care.
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