New Health Minister Simeon Brown says changes to Health NZ executive inevitable

Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora’s executive team is set to change as new Health Minister Simeon Brown says he believes a refreshed line-up is necessary to ensure the entity’s focus is centred on the Government’s health targets.

That could include Health NZ Commissioner Dr Lester Levy, who Brown is indicating needs to show progress on those targets as the end of his 12-month contract approaches.

Brown, who officially becomes Health Minister from Friday, took over the portfolio after it was stripped from Dr Shane Reti in Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s reshuffle of National ministers announced yesterday.

Health had been an area of growing importance for the coalition Government as the sector battled through the reforms initiated by the previous Labour Government that combined the more than 20 district health boards into one organisation, Health NZ.

Reti, also a GP, brought in Levy as the commissioner in July last year after he dissolved Health NZ’s board as members resigned prematurely or did not seek another term amid a 2023/24 deficit of $722 million.

Picking up the portfolio from Reti, Brown yesterday reinforced he would be squarely focused on achieving the Government’s five health targets announced in March:

• 90% of patients to receive cancer management within 31 days of the decision to treat.
• 95% of children to be fully immunised at 24 months of age.
• 95% of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred from an emergency department within six hours.
• 95% of patients to wait less than four months for a first specialist appointment.
• 95% of patients to wait less than four months for elective treatment.

Health NZ Commissioner Lester Levy took on the role in July last year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“The emphasis is on delivery,” Brown told the Herald today.

“That’s what the focus is going to be and look, we need to take a pragmatic approach to that, we look at everything that needs to be done to make sure that we are delivering against those [targets].”

Both Luxon and Brown credited Reti with establishing the foundations of the Government’s health targets but neither clearly articulated what change would come from appointing a new minister, given Reti’s stated commitment to the targets.

Today, Brown believed frontline staff would be able to see tangible differences with him as minister.

“We started to see some of those health targets, the stabilisation of some of those numbers after years of decline. We need to start seeing those turn around and start going in the direction that we need to achieve as a Government.

“Those outcomes and those targets, yes they are clear ... but to achieve them, you need the system to be working efficiently and effectively across the country.”

Brown, an Auckland MP, travelled to Wellington this morning to receive briefings from officials and visit Wellington Hospital to speak with staff.

He also held meetings with Health NZ’s leadership, including Levy, chief executive Margie Apa and Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati.

Asked if he had confidence in Levy, Brown first said: “He’s got a job to do”. But later he said he had confidence in Levy’s “ability to deliver against the Government’s objectives”.

Outgoing Health Minister Dr Shane Reti (left) and Health NZ Commissioner Professor Lester Levy. Photo / Denise Piper

Brown noted Levy had until July before his term as commissioner ended but he wouldn’t speculate on whether he supported Levy continuing in the role.

“There [are] further decisions we need to make in terms of the future beyond that, I’m not getting into any of that at this stage.

“All I’m saying is, he’s been appointed to the middle of this year, he’s focused on delivering what the Government’s tasked him to do and I’ve made my expectations clear.”

Apa’s term was due to end in June and Health NZ was currently searching for a new chief executive.

Brown said Apa had today made it clear she was aligned with his focus on outcomes but when asked about changes to the executive, Brown expected some were necessary.

“I think the reality is there’s going to need to be some level of change and that’s what we want to see, we want to see the right people in the right positions, driving that change to the organisation.”

Levy and Health NZ did not respond to the Herald’s request for comment before publication.

Ahead of the 2023 election, National promised to establish a third medical school at the University of Waikato in order to train more doctors.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and new Health Minister Simeon Brown. Photo / Mark Mitchell

That promise was diluted during the coalition negotiations until National agreed with Act to perform a cost/benefit analysis before any decision was taken regarding the new medical school.

Otago University vice-chancellor and former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson today used his press release congratulating Brown to encourage the Government to instead increase funding for Otago’s and Auckland’s medical schools.

“[Training doctors] cannot be easily replicated by a new provider in the short term or without considerable investment that might be better directed elsewhere within the stretched health and tertiary education systems,” Robertson said.

“The current limitation on the number of students we take stems from government restrictions on the number of domestic students it will fund, rather than a lack of institutional capability or willingness to take more.”

Brown said he was yet to get briefed on the matter but said Cabinet would need to make a decision “in the coming weeks and months”.

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.