Bad news over breakfast

I settled in for a few extra minutes of reading at the kitchen table this morning, ahead of the daily dash to my temporary home office, only to be dragged away from the fictional Game of Thrones by real-world calls for the head of Te Whatu Ora chair Rob Campbell.

As we reported yesterday, Mr Campbell has got himself into hot water by sharing his opinion on Natonal’s water services policy.

Mr Campbell told Newshub there is a “big difference between being ‘politically impartial’ and being ‘ politically neutered’”.

Which takes me back to Game of Thrones, where eunuchs play a part in getting things done but never seem to do too well at the end of the day (not that I, as yet, have completed the saga).

If, as the pundits suggest, Mr Campbell will soon no longer be chair of Te Whatu Ora, the health sector will lose a leader who spoke of a determination to see this game through.

I imagine Mr Campbell has learned a lot about health systems in the past year and, exposed to the inequities that abound, developed a greater passion to address these. And once you’ve seen inequity in one sphere, it becomes easier to spot it elsewhere. This leads to a growing frustration at the ignorance of others and the damage they can do.

Did Mr Campbell mean to get himself censured and possibly out of a job? It doesn’t seem like his style.

When he spoke to Martin Johnston in July last year, just after the new Pae Ora (Health futures) Act had taken effect, Mr Campbell was adamant he was committed to the Te Whatu Ora role, had given up most of his other roles and would not be easy to budge.

He also said: “I’m about to go to a meeting of our Te Whatu Ora executive team and one of the quotes I was going to use is from an article I was reading last night about [Marxist revolutionary] Che Guevara, which is probably the first time he’s been used as a mentor in the New Zealand health system.

“One of the things he’s famous for saying is – it may seem ridiculous – but the true revolutionary is guided by the deepest feelings of love.

“I’m using that to say that, in any change programme, you can be quite destructive and it’s particularly important to have those deep feelings of love about the service that you’re giving and the people that you’re working for; and I think that’s an important thing for people in the health system to keep in mind. I’m sure most do.”

Maybe not your average board chair, but the health reform – if it is to be a reform in reality and not name only – needs leadership that is out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, it is a given that our public service relies on political neutrality – at least public facing. Mr Campbell’s comment on water policy upsets that neutrality and tosses up the puzzling question of why he would think water policy lies outside health’s perview.

The future existence of the new health agencies – Te Aka Whai Ora is already in the sights of some Opposition parties – also relies on political neutrality and, as we know, health is highly politicised.

The sector could do without another change of leader at this time.

5:32pm

Newshub is reporting that health minister Ayesha Verrall has sacked Mr Campbell.

"I no longer have confidence that Mr Campbell is able to exercise the political neutrality necessary for his role at Te Whatu Ora," she said in the Newshub report.

"I have decided to exercise my power under section 36 of the Crown Entities Act to remove him from this role, effective immediately.

"It is of vital importance that all Public Service board members, especially Chairs, uphold the political neutrality required under the Code of Conduct which they sign upon appointment."

Dr Verrall said she would announce a new permanent chair in due course and thanked Campbell for his contribution.

Listen to System Fix: Episode 20 for Martin Johnston’s interview with Rob Campbell just after the launch of Te Whatu Ora