Ryall Tony: Ministerial Statements — Capital and Coast District Health Board—Appointment of Crown Monitor 
Ryall Tony: Ministerial Statements — Capital and Coast District Health Board—Appointment of Crown Monitor 
[Volume:644;Page:13952] 
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
: 
 I wonder whether the Minister of Health could clarify whether the Peter Douglas being appointed is the same Peter Douglas who is currently on the board. The Minister is standing in the House today and saying that a new board will be expected to deal with the problems facing Wellington Hospital when half of its members were on the old board. I do not think the people of Wellington will buy that.  
The culture change required at Wellington Hospital will be harder to achieve now that the Government has baulked at appointing a commissioner. What is needed at Wellington Hospital is a culture change and that is no easy task considering the climate of mistrust that exists between the management the board and the doctors nurses and other front-line heath staff.  
Government briefing papers have revealed that the Labour Government has had Wellington Hospital under intensive management or intensive monitoring since May. I cannot see how the idea of a Crown monitor will mean much as the Government has been actively monitoring Wellington Hospital for the last 6 months and all the while has been watching this crisis unfold at the Capital and Coast District Health Board. For half a year while the Government has been intensively monitoring Wellington Hospital public health services in our capital city have been allowed to suffer. I think Wellingtonians will trust Sir John Anderson and look to him for action but we believe that a commissioner would have had a more immediate impact on turning this hospital round. This turn-round could have been achieved more effectively by a commissioner. Creating culture change will be very challenging from the chairman’s seat and even more challenging when Sir John is also trying to turn round Television New Zealand.  
Sir John is left with a lot of baggage from the old board. Not only were four people re-elected by the people of Wellington on false pretences because they were part of a board that suppressed damning reports on the quality of that hospital but also Sir John is left with a lot of baggage from that district health board. There are four members whom the people of Wellington re-elected plus two more board members whom the Government is reappointing. Can we really expect Sir John to turn round Wellington Hospital when more than half of his board are the same failed people who as we have seen brought the Wellington health services to its knees?  
The most important message that the Opposition can give the Government is that front-line personnel must be part of the solution. They have been treated as though they are the problem. That is ridiculous. We have detailed previously a number of proposals that will re-engage the clinical workforce in improving the quality and productivity of services at Wellington Hospital.  
It is simply bizarre that since the Government changed Wellington Hospital has hired more managers and administrators than doctors. It has taken a crisis in maternity drastic problems with community services a damning audit report and papers showing one serious mishap after another for this Government to do anything about the state of public health services in the capital city of New Zealand. This is a Government that has dithered and dithered over saving our capital city’s health services.  
I am sure the people of Wellington will be keeping a very close eye on the performance of this board. I think people will be stunned that the Government expects a board made up of most of the people who were involved in causing the problem to be part of the solution. That is a job even a gentleman of the calibre of Sir John Anderson will struggle to meet.