I am appalled at Health Minister Shane Reti and his appointment of Lester Levy (part time) as Health NZ commissioner. Levy has been around health for many iterations and achieved very little, in my lived experience.
I recall he was appointed to “fix” the Canterbury District Health Board deficit – he didn’t achieve that, along with his many other so-called “successes”. Levy is about Levy – not health, I would suggest.
Bureaucratic bloat seems to be the name of the game. Levy’s ability to “remediate” the system seems very unlikely, so I guess the appointment of him and his three assistant commissioners, along with multiple managers including the current CEO of Health NZ, is unlikely to change anything.
I feel nauseated when I listen to the slick managerialism speak pouring out of Levy’s and Reti’s mouths, knowing that my patients are at the end of the line and will not receive the care they need unless I break my back and work myself till it hurts.
I recall reading Health NZ CEO Margie Apa’s documents on the restructuring of the organisation, specifically the documents on people and communications, and was appalled at the sheer number of “back office” people for the above functions. Is this about having more comms people to effectively cloud or spin the issues occurring at Health NZ?
What is being achieved for New Zealand citizens who have paid their taxes and have an expectation of First World health care? I would suggest that our focus on political spin has distracted from the main game here in town which is the delivery of health for all.
Robyn Henderson, RN,
Christchurch
Minister of Health Shane Reti replies:
Ensuring we have a strong frontline to deliver faster and easier access to health care is a top priority for me as Minister of Health and I have made this expectation clear to Health New Zealand.
There are now more nurses working in our hospitals than ever before, with over 29,000 full time equivalent (FTE) nurses across the country.
I have been assured by Health NZ that hospital managers and clinical leads are still recruiting for frontline roles, particularly where they need to replace staff. Decisions are made at a local level as to which roles should be prioritised.
In July and August, around 2000 offers of employment were made and accepted, including another 710 nurses.
There is also ongoing work to empower the regions, with Health NZ appointing four regional deputy chief executives, tasked with ensuring we’ve got the right staff in the right places to deliver the care New Zealanders need.
I am aware work is ongoing to streamline other parts of Health NZ to ensure as much resource as possible is directed to frontline delivery, and I absolutely agree with the need for that.
I appreciate the dedication and commitment shown every day by our nurses and other health professionals.