Health board CEO seeks partial merger

By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter

Garry Smith, the new chief of the country's biggest health organisation, is pushing a partial merger of Auckland's three health boards.

Mr Smith, a senior manager at the Auckland District Health Board since 2001, was this month named its interim chief executive.

His appointment may become permanent next March.

Based near Green Lane Hospital, he replaces Graeme Edmond, who left last month after an unspecified difference of views with the board.

Aged 50 and married with two sons, Mr Smith has been a Health Waikato chief executive, Christchurch Hospital general manager and White Cross Group chief executive. At Waikato, he fought the board over the introduction of a controversial computer system that was later scrapped. At the Auckland board he was general manager of planning and funding.

Mr Smith said the Auckland, Waitemata and Counties Manukau health boards had improved their collaboration, but more was needed, in human resources, for instance, since Auckland was one labour market and clinical staff moved between the boards.

"There are huge opportunities for efficiencies and effectiveness and significant progress is being made regionally."

But he said he was not openly charting a career path for himself to become chief executive of a Greater Auckland health board, which would cover a third of New Zealand's population.

"I'm sure there will be an appropriate process at the time if that decision is made," he said diplomatically. "There's a huge amount of focus, which is a diversion, on merging the three boards into one DHB. That's a diversion on an important journey that we're on."

Board chairman Wayne Brown supports "regionalisation" of Auckland's health services. He has said merging the three boards - which are running multimillion-dollar deficits - would save taxpayers tens of millions a dollars a year.

Health Minister Annette King has indicated she would consider a merger proposal from the region.

Already Waitemata and Counties Manukau have set up a jointly owned company to handle finance, recruitment and other administrative roles.

Junior doctors are in a national multi-employer pay agreement, senior doctors want one, and public hospital nurses have a collective deal with the three Auckland boards.

The boards have created a joint agency to handle some of the roles of the old Health Funding Authority.

They are considering extending the administration company to include Auckland and expanding collaboration on funding and planning.

They will look into collaborating in clinical support areas, which include hospital laboratories.

Mr Smith has been appointed "interim" chief executive as a steady hand to see the board through the changes of shifting most of its acute services to the new Auckland City Hospital from October.

Mr Brown has said the board will decide next March whether a "full search" for a new chief executive is needed.

Mr Smith - whose appointment also followed the resignation of chief financial officer Ian Ward - said he had an "excellent, honest and open" relationship with the board.

Mr Brown has been criticised over his occasional outbursts against doctors, and the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists has called on the Government to sack him.

Association executive director Ian Powell yesterday wished Mr Smith well, but said there would be no end to the board's leadership crisis until the Government "deals with the calibre of leadership provided by the board".

Merger moves

Auckland's health boards already work together in:Administration (e.g. human resources, finance, purchasing).

Community mental health services.

Community laboratories.

Pharmacies.