On Monday, we sought an interview with him - happy to fit in with his timescale. After several further attempts, we were told we would have to make do with a prepared statement - all 75 words of it.
In it, he commended Ms Joblin's work, but the nearest he came to explaining her surprise exit was to say that she had been Whanganui DHB's chairwoman "for almost seven years" and that "generally, chairs do two terms".
The logic of this is that no matter how good you are, you are out after two three-year terms.
Does Mr Ryall apply the same argument to his leader, Prime Minister John Key? And next year, Mr Ryall, himself, will have done six years as Minister of Health - will he be chucking in the towel?
The minister is the consummate career politician, having been elected an MP in 1990 at the age of 26. He has handled a number of ministerial portfolios and has rarely put a foot wrong as far as toeing the party line goes.
Always on-message; always keeping to the National Party agenda; always keeping his bosses happy. Perhaps it is too much to expect him to bother with the concerns of Wanganui ... ?
Sorry, Mr Ryall - it is simply not good enough that you did not front up, failing even to address the questions we emailed.
Our community deserved a few minutes of your valuable time.
