Health Minister Simeon Brown will reinstate a governing board at Health NZ after it was axed and replaced with a commissioner in July last year under his predecessor, Dr Shane Reti.
Brown said it was time to begin the process of transitioning to traditional governance. Nominations for the board positions would open in the coming weeks.
The Government moved to take control of the troubled health agency in July by appointing Professor Lester Levy as commissioner for a 12-month term.
Appointing a commissioner was the strongest intervention available to the Health Minister under the Pae Ora Act, the legislation that created Health NZ by merging the former District Health Boards.
Health NZ Commissioner Professor Lester Levy during the health select committee hearing at Parliament in December. Photo / Mark Mitchell
There are three deputy commissioners under Levy: Roger Jarrold, Ken Whelan and Kylie Clegg.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the commissioners for their work to date and I look forward to working with them as they deliver on their plan and as we transition to a board,” Brown said.
On Friday, he outlined his priorities as health minister, among which was reducing emergency department (ED) waiting times.
“Emergency departments are the beating hearts of hospitals – if they are operating efficiently and effectively, that reflects the effectiveness and efficiency of every part of the hospital.
“If wait times are too slow in the ED department, it indicates problems throughout the hospital.”
Brown has also asked Health NZ to work with the private sector to agree a set of principles that will underpin future outsourcing contracts.
This will include:
Ending the use of expensive ad hoc, shorter-term contracts for elective surgeries
Negotiating longer-term, multi-year agreements to deliver better value for money and better outcomes for patients
Agreeing on plans to recruit, share and train staff who already bridge both the public and private hospitals.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon with Health Minister Simeon Brown. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“Long term, I want as much planned care as possible to be delivered in partnership with the private sector, freeing public hospitals for acute needs.”
He stressed the health system would remain publicly funded so everyone had access, but this approach would allow Health NZ “to leverage private capacity to reduce wait times for patients”.
Brown’s five health priorities are:
- Stabilising Health NZ’s governance and accountability, allowing it to focus on delivering the basics
- Reducing emergency department wait times
- Delivering a boost in elective surgery volumes to get on top of the backlog and reduce waiting lists
- Fixing primary care to ensure easier access
- Providing clarity on the health infrastructure investment pipeline.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
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