Carolyn Gullery

Previously Executive Director Planning, Funding and Analytics Canterbury and West Coast District Health Boards – New Zealand
Carolyn has been working in the United Kingdom for the past two years providing strategic advice to health and social care systems in Wales and England covering populations totalling more than 12 million. In the post COVID world these systems are struggling with meeting the population need through winter and tackling the overwhelming backlog of planned care demand. Innovative solutions that enable systems to target limited resources to the most at need are required.

Carolyn brings with her thirty years of health system experience in a variety of strategic and leadership roles for both the public and private sectors. During that time, she has led complex planning, negotiation and change processes at a regional and national level including leading the development of innovative health and social care system funding and contracting models. Carolyn was a director of New Zealand’s drug governing body; PHARMAC, was the establishment Chief Executive Officer of Partnership Health Canterbury Primary Health Organisation (New Zealand’s largest, with a population of 360,000) and has also worked in a number of policy, commissioner, planning and funding roles.

Carolyn joined Canterbury DHB in 2007 and in the following 13 years was one of the leaders in the integration of the Canterbury Health and Social Care system creating a person-centred system that supported people to live well in their own homes and communities. This included leadership roles in innovations such as the Canterbury Clinical Network alliance, Canterbury Initiative and HealthPathways. Leading to new models of care that reduced hospitalisations, reduced time in long-term care, reduced inequity and addressed resilience in at-risk primary school children. Carolyn also led the Decision Support (Analytics Function) in Canterbury to support the development of a data-informed health system which has underpinned decision-making in Canterbury through many difficult times including earthquakes, fires and one of the world’s largest mass shootings.