Auckland's top health man quits

By REBECCA WALSH and ANGELA GREGORY

The man in Auckland's top health job has quit but neither he nor the board is talking about the "difference of views" behind his sudden resignation.

Auckland District Health Board's announcement yesterday said that Graeme Edmond, its chief executive, had resigned after seven years in what was a mutually agreed decision over a "difference of views between the board and the CEO".

A former senior manager said later that Mr Edmond was always on board chairman Wayne Brown's hitlist - an opinion he believed was shared by many of his former colleagues.

Mr Edmond, 51, refused to elaborate on "the difference of views".

"I'm not in a position to say. That's the agreement I have with the board. It's not one defining event. Just a difference of views."

Mr Brown said there had been no "clash of personalities".

"The board is an item in itself. It's not me, it's a board ... There's nothing to say really. From time to time differences of opinion occur," he said.

"Someone left, that's all there is to it. There's no particular story involved."

Asked about Mr Edmond's performance, Mr Brown said he could not comment.

"He has performance reviews that are between him and me."

But a former senior manager at the board said: "Graeme has always been regarded as a tall poppy in the sector.

"He is by far the most competent CEO in the health sector in the country. That got up the noses of people in the ministry and politicians.

"My view is [that] one of Wayne Brown's tasks was to get rid of him right from the start ... It's a huge loss to the health sector."

The board's deficit of about $48.7 million, although better than budgeted, and the renaming of Starship children's hospital could also be factors.

Mr Edmond, the driving force behind development of the new hospital at the Grafton site due to open in October, will leave at the end of the month.

His role will be jointly taken over by the board's chief funding and planning officer, Garry Smith, and its chief operations officer, Marek Stepniak.

Yesterday, Mr Edmonds said working in the "biggest and best" job in the health sector had been the greatest challenge of his career.

"You go from periods of massive frustration to periods of enormous satisfaction.

"When you come into public health you know your business is about ensuring you get the best out of available resources, knowing there will never be enough."

He said health was never far from the public eye and was close to the political arena.

"I find it incredibly disappointing, at times depressing, that the media focus on the negatives that happen all the time ... The good things struggle to get a mention."

He said that after seven years of "hard work" alongside dedicated staff to rebuild the organisation there was an element of regret about leaving. He had received many supportive emails from staff.

Asked whether he was receiving a golden handshake, Mr Edmond said he was leaving under the terms and conditions of his contract.

Dr Margaret Horsburgh, deputy chair of the board, said the decision for Mr Edmond to resign was "mutually agreed". She said she had always enjoyed working with him.

A spokesman for Health Minister Annette King said she had been informed of Mr Edmond's resignation.

Richard Waddel, who was the board chairman until two years ago, called Mr Edmond an outstanding chief executive.

But Ian Powell, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said that while Mr Edmond was professional to deal with personally, that was not reflected in his managerial direction.

He said Mr Edmond had been poorly served by the management below him, but he had made those appointments, which senior doctors had strongly contested.