Territorial behaviour hinders the effectiveness of our health system.

Health minister David Clark dismissed the Waikato DHB board today, and replace it with a Commissioner to right what was wrong.

Former chairman of two DHBs Gregor Coster says New Zealand's 20 District Health Boards need to work better together.

He says DHBs are too competitive with each other, often driven by a shortage of funding.

However, Coster also told Mike Yardley it's a reflection of those on the boards, and how they're a mix of elected and appointed members.

"A number of them don't necessarily have the skills that we need to manage budgets that in some cases exceed a billion dollars."

He believes could only benefit from a drastic decrease in District Health Boards.

"I think we should have around six large health boards. By comparison, Wales, a country of similar size, they have seven health boards."

Coster says it's important to remember proper changes to the health system will take time.

 

• Health Minister replaces Waikato DHB with commissioner