2 March 2018

Whanganui District Health Board (WDHB) chief executive Russell Simpson is urging Whanganui residents to complete their Census forms by midnight March 6 so the DHB and community health services don’t miss out on future Government funding.

Mr Simpson says given that the WDHB receives around $3800 for every resident living in the Whanganui district, it’s vital the Ministry of Health knows our population numbers.

“Every dollar counts and because our population is said to have increased over the past year alone, Whanganui DHB needs accurate data to work with in order to understand what health services are needed for our population now and into the future,” Mr Simpson says.

“Given that we are a district with high health needs, it’s critical that Whanganui DHB is able to plan ahead to ensure health services are in a strong position to meet that need.

“This Census will provide a clear, up-to-date picture of how many people live in our region, their ethnicity, their age, where they live and the resources required to care for our people across hospital, primary care and community health services.”

The Census takes place every five years to provide an official count of how many people and dwellings there are in New Zealand. By asking New Zealanders to complete a set of questions about themselves and their household, the Census captures a snapshot of who is living in, and visiting, New Zealand on that date.

“WDHB encourages people to support their family/whānau, neighbours and particularly the elderly to help them complete the Census. Census 2018 field workers will assist hospital patients to fill in their forms,” Mr Simpson says.

This year, Statistics New Zealand is encouraging the Census to be completed online. Information is available in five different languages to help guide people through the process.

Information provided remains confidential with anonymous data provided to government departments for planning and funding purposes. For more information, including the language resources, visit www.census.govt.nz

Anyone unable to take part online is asked to contact 0800 CENSUS (0800 236 787) once their household access code has arrived. This code is needed to request paper forms which arrive by post.