Heather du Plessis-Allan: It's only a matter of time until Health NZ's boss is gone

The boss of Health NZ needs to go.

Her job is no longer tenable after the stunt that was pulled yesterday, where her management team gave a presentation to other staff proposing that the way they would save money was to cut nearly 500 doctors and nearly 1500 nurses.

It doesn't look like Margie Apa can plead ignorance or innocence on this one, because according to a source who spoke to the media outlet Newsroom, the presentation wasn’t a stunt - those cuts were actually planned.

And at least one region of the organisation had already started making plans to consult and implement the changes. It's hard to imaging that happening without the CEO signing off on it.

It is impossible to have confidence in her as the boss of Health NZ if she genuinely believes that the way to save money is to cut doctors and nurses in a health system that already doesn’t have enough doctors and nurses.

She was already on thin ice before yesterday, because from the way she was running the place, it had been blowing its budget by $130 million every month for five months.

That's not competence, that's unbelievable.

I think she’s gone. The new Health Commissioner Lester Levy is not expressing full confidence in her, and he's failed to do that a number of times now.

He has also gone public with the fact that he’s called her about these planned cuts and made it very clear that this is 'unacceptable' and is not to be ever repeated. And he told the minister’s office that 'there will be consequences'.

So my guess is - she's gone. It's only a matter of time.

And frankly, given how this place has been run and the nuts idea for how they were going to save money, this is the best outcome.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I wholeheartedly agree with what des Gorman said at the
start of the program. The Boss of Health New Zealand
needs to go her job. I do not think as
tenable any longer after the stunt that was pulled yesterday. Now,
the stunt is where her management team gave a presentation
to other staff proposing that the way that Health New
Zealand needs to save all this money that it needs
to save is to cut nearly five hundred doctors and

(00:22):
nearly fifteen hundred nurses. It doesn't look like Margie up
of the Chief Executive complete ignorance or innocence on this one, because,
according to a source who's spoken to the media outlet Newsroom,
who seemed to be the most informed on this particular issue,
the presentation wasn't actually a stunt. Those cuts were really planned,
like this was really really going to happen, and at

(00:43):
least one region of the organization had already started making
plans to consult and implement the changes. Now it is
hard to imagine a region in the organization starting to
cut doctors and nurses without the CEO signing off on it.
It is impossible then to have confidence in her. Is
the boss of Health New Zealand, if she genuinely believes it,
the way to save money is to cut doctors and

(01:04):
nurses in a health system that already doesn't have doctors
and nurses. Can you really trust her to run this
place properly? Frankly, even before what happened yesterday, she was
on thin ice because the way that she was running
the place, it has been blowing its budget by one
hundred and thirty million dollars every month for five months.
That's not competence. That's unbelievable. I think she's gone, by

(01:25):
the way. I don't think that I'm sitting here telling
you something that I'm just guessing at. I think she's gone.
And I base that on the fact that the new
Health Commissioner, Lester Levy is not expressing full confidence in her.
He's failed to do that a couple of times now.
And also he's gone public with the fact that he's
called her about what happened yesterday, and he's made it
very clear this is unacceptable his word unacceptable quote and

(01:47):
is not to ever be repeated. And then he says
he told the Minister's office there will be consequences. My
guess is the consequence is that she's gone and it's
only a matter of time for them to just to
sort out the paperwork and how we get her out
the door. And frankly, given how this place has been
run and the nuts idea for how they were going
to save money, I think Margie Upper leaving Health New

(02:08):
Zealand may well be the best outcome. For more from
Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to News Talk Set
B from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.