The Roster Te Rārangi: Edition 28

In the thick of transformation
Academic and GP Carol Atmore says the Government’s plans for the health system are “truly transformational”, so she is joining Dunedin-based primary health organisation (PHO) WellSouth next month to be part of the changes. Dr Atmore has led integration of community, primary, mental health and hospital care in rural communities in the past. A former West Coast DHB chief medical officer, she has been a GP for more than 25 years. Dr Atmore is leaving Dunedin School of Medicine’s department of general practice and rural health, which she has headed since August 2019.

Vaccine quality and safety
New appointees have joined the clinical quality and safety team of the COVID-19 Vaccine and Immunisation Programme at the Ministry of Health. The team is led by Juliet Rumball-Smith, who is on secondment from her ministry role as clinical chief advisor in the office of clinical chief officers. A public health physician with a PhD in epidemiology, Dr Rumball-Smith joined the ministry from Northland DHB, where she was director of health intelligence and translational medicine and, earlier, medical officer of health. She founded and is chair of women’s mentoring network Wāhine Connect.

Viewed from many angles
The new COVID-19 vaccine clinical quality and safety team members include senior clinical advisors Jono Hoogerbrug and Jared Green. Dr Hoogerbrug’s role includes data and digital aspects of the programme, such as the COVID-19 Immunisation Register and national booking system. He is an Auckland GP and clinical informatics analyst. Dr Green is a rural hospital doctor and infectious diseases physician, whose role in the group includes consideration of vaccination of rural populations. He usually works at Thames and Waikato Hospitals.

GP with a research bent
Edwin Reynolds is principal advisor to the clinical quality and safety team mentioned above. Dr Reynolds has been seconded for six months from his role as senior medical officer and researcher with the Auckland Regional Public Health Service. Dr Reynolds’ background is in research, and he originally trained as an immunologist / vaccinologist. He qualified in general practice in 2003.

Finance and more at The Fono
Jennifer Tupou is the new chief financial officer at The Fono, which provides medical, dental, social and health services in central Auckland, Henderson and Manurewa. The CFO functions include financial management, asset management, corporate advisory services, IT and human resources. Ms Tupou was until recently corporate finance manager – strategy and reporting at Auckland DHB. She has more than 15 years’ experience in auditing and business advisory services in the public and private sectors.

New workload to manage
Renee Richards-Berry has joined The Fono in the new role of manager, mental health. Ms Richards-Berry manages The Fono’s mental health team and its new Pacific community mental health and whānau ora service. She previously held senior roles at Auckland regional PHO ProCare for almost six years. Most recently, Ms Richards-Berry managed ProCare’s primary care mental health programme Te Tumu Waiora for two years. A psychology masters graduate, she has worked for Waitematā DHB and Odyssey House Trust.

Accustomed to leadership
The Fono’s new manager social services, Joycelyn Tauevihi, was a national trainer for the Ahuru Mowai Born To Learn programme with the Ministry of Social Development for 15 years. Ms Tauevihi has been a supervisor for the then Counties Manukau Family Start, programme leader and quality assurance manager for BEST Pacific Education, family service centre manager with Great Potentials Foundation, and manager, Fale Pasifika Women’s Refuge. Her BEd is in early childhood; other qualifications include social services supervision and business and, recently, masters in educational leadership. A JP, she has 25-plus years’ governance experience.

Brand new role in rural health
The New Zealand Rural General Practice Network has created a new role: clinical director rural health. Jeremy Webber has been selected for the job, which is supported by a group of PHOs. Dr Webber has worked in rural general practice, hospital and emergency settings in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, he was a locum GP in Alice Springs and a rural GP for an Aboriginal health service. Since 2016, he has been a rural hospital doctor at Taupō Hospital. He is a University of Auckland rural clinical educator.

#ICYMI New workforce councils
Education minister Chris Hipkins has announced the creation of six new workforce development councils, and one of these will cover community, health, education and social services. Governance roles for each of the inaugural councils will be appointed around the end of next month, Mr Hipkins says in a media release. The aim is to ensure people graduate with the right skills at the right time to address skills shortages, he says.

What next for medicinal cannabis?
Mark Morrison is likely to have the answer to the above question. As a consultant, Mr Morrison developed medicinal cannabis company Helius Therapeutics’ commercial strategy. This month, he became Helius’ chief commercial officer. He has worked in the pharmaceutical, animal health and fast-moving consumer goods industries for more than 25 years, including senior roles in Australia, the US and New Zealand. He began consulting in the medicinal cannabis sector in 2018. His qualifications are in business management and science.

Prisons' mental health leads
Three New Zealand prisons now have clinical managers mental health, new roles created by Department of Corrections Ara Poutama Aotearoa. The appointees are Martin Quinn (Rimutaka), Victoria Weedon (Mt Eden) and May Pritchard (Spring Hill), who will be recruiting multidisciplinary mental health teams, including psychologists, mental health nurses and Māori mental health practitioners. Mr Quinn has recently led Capital & Coast DHB’s Porirua community mental health team. Auckland-based Dr Weedon is a consultant in clinical and forensic psychology. Ms Pritchard has had eight years in a mental health leadership role at Counties Manukau DHB.

Are you watching this space?!
The Budget allocated $485 million to advance the Government’s major health reforms. This covers the reform planning team – the Health Transition Unit – in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; early versions of national agency Health New Zealand, a Māori Health Authority, and iwi/Māori partnership boards; prototyping the locality networks that are to run primary and community care; and an initial commissioning budget for a Māori Health Authority. The transition unit is seeking new staff as we speak. Go well, everyone. Feel free to forward this to a colleague or friend.

– Virginia McMillan, editor
phone 021 914 699 or email vmcmillan@nzdoctor.co.nz