The Roster Te Rārangi: Edition 10

HIghly regarded CEO to go
David Meates shocked many local health professionals by resigning as chief executive of Canterbury and West Coast DHBs. Also on the move are three members of Mr Meates’ executive leadership team: executive director, planning, funding and decision support Carolyn Gullery (see next item); chief people officer Michael Frampton (to Sky TV); and chief financial officer Justine White (to Auckland DHB). Mr Meates was honoured with the Chair’s Award of the New Zealand Medical Association for exemplary leadership after the Canterbury earthquakes. He was awarded Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2014. He offered no comment on his reasons for resigning. Fiona Cassie reports in New Zealand Doctor | Rata Aotearoa that Canterbury DHB has forecast a deficit of almost $180 million for 2019/20 and is under Crown monitor Lester Levy.

Primary care influencer
Carolyn Gullery will be hard to replace at Canterbury DHB after her 30 years’ influencing integrated healthcare in the region, reports New Zealand Doctor. She quotes Christchurch GP and general practice academic Les Toop saying Ms Gullery has facilitated primary care and taken a load off secondary care. The New Zealand Doctor article would normally be available to paid subscribers only; read it free here. Ms Gullery moves to the UK next month to work for health IT firm Lightfoot Solutions supporting NHS systems in Wales and England.

A leader in the making
Nina Bevin (Waikato-Tainui) joins the board of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners this month as its board apprentice. President Samantha Murton says Dr Bevin is an ambitious and accomplished doctor, who was a stand-out candidate for her experience, commitment to public health and deep thinking about the role of GPs in a healthy society. Dr Bevin recently gained a masters in public health from Yale University. A 2004 medical graduate, she has postgraduate diplomas in industrial health and business administration.

By Pacific, for Pacific
The former Capital & Coast DHB Pacific directorate lead Tagaloa Taima Fagaloa has begun a new role managing the Wellington and Canterbury regions for Vaka Tautua, the national by Pacific, for Pacific health and social services provider. Ms Fagaloa, who is of Samoan descent, has been a Porirua city councillor and deputy mayor, a social work tutor at the then Whitireia Community Polytechnic and Pacific advisor with Oranga Tamariki. Newly appointed to the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand, she is undertaking a PhD in Pacific public sector leadership.

New role at kaupapa Māori PHO
The country’s only nation-wide primary health organisation (PHO), the National Hauora Coalition, has created a new role: leader, people and culture, with James Spencer (Te Āti Awa) the appointee. Mr Spencer has spent much of his career offshore, specialising in human resources, strategy, change management and leadership. He has held senior roles with large consultancy firms PwC and EY, and worked for Fonterra, Vodafone and IBM. The coalition supports general practices in several areas of the North Island, and is an advocate for hauora Māori. Its kaupapa is mana whānau, whānau ora (prosperous whānau, living well).

'Outstanding wāhine'
The National Hauora Coalition has appointed a new board chair, Dame Paula Rebstock. Dame Paula is chair of Auckland DHB’s finance, risk and assurance committee and of ACC. Other new coalition board members are Shelley Katae (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Porou), who is general manager strategy and performance at Tamaki Regeneration and Tamaki Transformation in east Auckland; and Te Rōpu Poa (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Wai), general manager of Te Hau Ora Ō Ngāpuhi and a director of the Northland PHO, Mahitahi Hauora. The three are “outstanding wāhine”, says the chair of the coalition’s trust board, Dame Tariana Turia.

Dispensing medicines know-how
Pharmacist Andrea Copeland started last month as custom education lead for The Health Media. Based in Whangārei, Ms Copeland recently worked as clinical quality assurance and improvement leader for Mahitahi Hauora. She has worked for previous Northland PHO Manaia Health, Pegasus Health PHO in Christchurch, the Ministry of Health and Southern DHB. Ms Copeland has postgraduate qualifications in pharmacy and public health. The Health Media Ltd publishes ELearning, an online clinical education resource for primary healthcare professionals. It has a joint venture with Dunedin data company Airmed to provide education to healthcare professionals on responsible use of medicines. (The Health Media publishes The Roster Te Rārangi.)

Attuned to Pacific needs
Manukau GP Hinamaha Lutui is the Alliance Health Plus PHO’s new medical director, a role previously held by Tana Fishman. Dr Lutui, of Tongan descent, qualified in medicine in 2010. She established Southpoint Family Doctors with GP Fiona Shepherd four years later. Alliance Health Plus, which has a focus on Pacific and high-needs population health, serves 36 general practices and more than 109,000 patients. Its Pacific development strategy team works in the wider Auckland region.

Popcorn Panel to Zoom in on pharmacy
Pharmacy Today | Kaitiaki Rongoā o te Wā is holding its first Popcorn Panel to chat about “What can save community pharmacy?” Tune in on Wednesday 12 August at 7pm to join Pharmacy Today editor Ruth Brown and panellists, for an hour on Zoom, as they chat and take questions from the audience about the direction the pharmacy sector should be taking and what you think is the way forward. You can post questions in Zoom on the night or send questions in advance to rbrown@nzdoctor.co.nz. Panellists are Pharmacy Guild New Zealand chief executive Andrew Gaudin, Kaikōura pharmacy owner David McKee and Pharmacy Council member and community pharmacist Katrina Azer. Register here for this free event.

The fight against hepatitis C
The Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination has selected Jo de Lisle as New Zealand’s first elimination champion. Ms de Lisle is Midland Hepatitis C project manager, guiding the education, testing and elimination programme run from Waikato Hospital across Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, Lakes and Taranaki DHB districts. She was for seven years the network service manager for then Midlands Regional Health Network PHO. The coalition sees her programme as a template that should be adopted worldwide, says the Ministry of Health via media release.

Real-world insight for DHB
Governance advisor and non-government organisation capability consultant Gail Munro is the new chair of MidCentral DHB’s Consumer Council. In a MidCentral media release, Ms Munro points to her most relevant experience: “my interests in community development, personal impairments and experience living with rheumatoid arthritis, and engagement with the disability sector and former refugees settling in Aotearoa New Zealand”. The council provides consumer-focused advice and insight on health services, projects and initiatives.

Much ado about health
COVID-19, the Health and Disability System Review, resignations, referenda and a general election: It is hard to think of a more disrupted year than 2020. And that’s only in our tiny country at the bottom of the world. But for our readers, as for everyone featured in today’s newsletter, the mahi must go on. To help health and wellbeing networks stay strong, I encourage you to share this link with your associates and contacts so they too can receive our free and fortnightly newsletter. Thank you very much.

Virginia McMillan, editor

Phone 021 914 699, email vmcmillan@nzdoctor.co.nz