Health bosses slam comments

Hawke's Bay District Health Board chief executive officer Kevin Snee says the Intersector Leadership Group is a big win for the region. Photo / File

Members of the health sector have slammed comments by Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Peter Butler about the Intersector Leadership Group (ILG).

In a letter to the editor (see page 11), Hawke's Bay District Health Board chairman Kevin Atkinson and chief executive officer Kevin Snee "strongly disagree" with Mr Butler, who previously said the ILG was just a "talk fest".

"Mr Butler has never attended any of the six meetings minuted, and may therefore be unaware of the strategic vision for the region that is being discussed and developed by the committee,"the health board heads write.

"The big win for Hawke's Bay is that there is a leadership group that does want to work together, to discuss issues collectively and work together for the people of Hawke's Bay.

"Most members of ILG recognise that many of the issues facing Hawke's Bay cannot be solved by individual organisations or bodies alone.

"Only by working together will we address issues in health, education and employment."

One of the early proponents of the body, Napier Mayor Bill Dalton, said he believed Mr Butler's comments were based on the early stages of the group.

"In its infancy it sort of appeared to go nowhere," he said, "but some of these things take a while to get going and it's alright talking about these things but you need to implement the ideas."

He said the ILG now had a group adviser in Kerry Le Geyt and was moving forward.

"I actually think it has got the potential to be a template for areas throughout New Zealand. Peter's comments were correct in terms of the early days of the group but we have moved on from that and the group is now doing some good work."