Hundreds of jobs could go in mega Health NZ restructure

The agency at the heart of the Government’s health reforms, Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ, is heading towards a massive restructuring, which could cost “many hundreds” of overhead roles.

That is, according to former chair Rob Campbell, who was sacked from the board by Health Minister Ayesha Verrall this week.

Campbell has gone to ground and is not answering phone calls, but in an opinion piece for Newsroom Pro he hit out at “extensive waste” in the health system resulting from the duplication of roles after the former DHBs were merged into Te Whatu Ora.

He said Te Whatu Ora needed to shift to “a much more efficient and modern corporate structure”.

Campbell spoke of a plan to make those changes that had not yet been put into action.

“That is not fully done but the path is set. That now has to be promptly completed and management systems activated around accountable performance targets”.

He said the “plan” would come with “the disestablishment of many hundreds of overhead roles,” which would allow Te Whatu Ora to shift “hundreds of millions of dollars from overhead to front-line expenditure”.

He said the plan was urgently needed.

“There will be future waves of such change but the first big shift must happen now,” Campbell said.

Newsroom reported that Te Whatu Ora rushed to brief staff about the restructure this morning as Campbell’s column went to print.

Te Whatu Ora’s chief executive Margie Apa told the Herald that the organisation was “committed to supporting our people as we work to deliver better, more equitable care for New Zealanders”.

Ora confirmed there would be changes this year.

“Over the course of 2023, we will be working to deliver on the promise of reforms by continuing to unify, simplify and integrate our team of teams for the benefit of whānau and communities,” she said.

“Our proposals are not yet finalised and we do not have any further information to share publicly until we have started our discussions with our people,” she said.

The Herald has approached Verrall’s office for comment.

Campbell and the Government are feuding after he published a LinkedIn post lashing out at National’s Three Waters proposals.

The post was found to have breached public service impartiality and saw Campbell sacked from his roles on two Crown Entity boards.