Dr Diana Sarfati, Director-General of Health and Chief Executive, Ministry of Health Dr Sarfati has a PhD from the University of Otago, is NZ College of Public Health Medicine Fellow and until 2008 was a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine. She is very aware of the mandated responsibilities of being entrusted with such significant funding, while being equally mindful of how we use that financial investment to improve equity of health outcomes across Aotearoa New Zealand. During this time, Margie led the organisation through major incidents including a measles epidemic, Whakaari White Island and was lead CEO of the Northern Regions COVID-19 outbreak response. The role of director of public health was previously held by Dr Caroline McElnay, who resigned in April. This follows the director general of health's surprise resignation that was announced earlier today, with his last day at the end of July. The country's 12 public health units had no way of sharing details with each other at the start of the pandemic unless officials made phone calls to each other. Maree has had a wide range of experience in the public service, primarily in social sector policy relating to children, young people, families and communities. For three years, 2006-2009, she was Regional Director of Training at the Australasian College of Public Health Medicine. [12][13] In 1997, he graduated from the University of Auckland with a Master of Public Health degree, with first-class honours. If you can help us, please click the button to ensure we can continue to provide quality independent journalism you can trust. Dr Nick Chamberlain was Northland DHB Chief Executive for nearly 12 years. He will bring together the 12 existing public . Like all departmental chief executives, the Director-Generals primary responsibility is to the minister, in this case the Minister of Health. Signal to noise - is AM radio really under threat. 21 Jun, 2022 06:30 PM 3 mins to read. Salary: NZ$69,671 Allied Health Avg. Abbe Anderson brings diverse experience across hospital and primary care, including two decades leading complex system reforms. But it cant continue to conceal its hand for long. Jeremy was previously the GM Infrastructure Delivery for Crown Infrastructure Partners, with responsibility for the delivery oversight of $6 billion ofmajor infrastructure programmes receiving NZ Government stimulus funding. One of the more interesting aspects of the course of the Covid-19 pandemic in New Zealand since March 2020 has been the development of the role of the Director-General of Health. Media queries: Grahame Armstrong 021 940 457 or grahame.armstrong@publicservice.govt.nz. [14], Between 2004 and 2006, Bloomfield was the Ministry of Health's acting director of public health. Details of expenditure for the Director-General of Health. to ensure the health system delivers for all New Zealanders, with a focus on achieving more equitable outcomes for Mori. Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield in the Beehive theatrette. Dr Diana Sarfati was appointed to the role of Director-General of Health and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Health in November 2022 having acted in the role since July 2022. New Director of Public Health appointed | New Zealand Doctor [1] She was the director of public health for the New Zealand Ministry of Health from 2016 to 2022, and chaired the Pandemic Influenza Technical Advisory Group, which advises the Ministry on matters concerning the control of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. "The ministry also retains significant public health expertise including through two remaining Deputy Directors of Public Health, and other clinical advice on board as part of our broader Covid response. Caroline McElnay - Public Health Specialist - Freelance - LinkedIn Announcing this new permanent appointment, interim Health New Zealand Chief Executive Fepulea'i Margie Apa said Dr Chamberlain was an outstanding fit for the role. In legal and statutory terms, the phrase have regard to generally means that the minister, must specifically and separately listen to the advice being proffered. Director, Small Business Services | Ministry of Business, Innovation She is a partnerships specialist and has a background in law and Pacific development. [6], In the 2023 New Year Honours, McElnay was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services to public health. Former minister Peter Dunne says Judith Collins personalised attacks and Nationals ineffectiveness over the Covid response make it hard to take the Opposition party seriously. All this was avoidable. [8], Bloomfield graduated Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Auckland in 1990. [5] While at the board she was involved in the response to Havelock North's gastro outbreak, the first case of the SARS virus in New Zealand and a listeria outbreak. The PM has the communication skills to give New Zealanders confidence we can start soon to reopen our economy and country, but needs to employ them soon, writes Peter Dunne. [15][16] From 2006 to 2010, he was the ministry's chief public health adviser. This included working for the National Hauora Coalition and Procare Health and Homecare Medical. She has been an impressive leader at the Cancer Control Agency., Dr Sarfati has considerable experience and a sound understanding of New Zealands health system and has strong relationships across the sector.. You'll find details of our wider leadership team below. New Zealand Doctor Online is intended for a New Zealand health professional readership. National Director - Dr Nick Chamberlain. Dr Sarfati will. [10] Former health reporter Tess Nichol, writing for the American online magazine Slate, described him as "New Zealand's current obsession, an unlikely heartthrob, a mild-mannered health care hero". He was awarded Fellowship of the New Zealand Medical Association in 2011 for services to the profession and the public. Find out what support is available near you. Since 11 June 2018, he has been the chief executive of the country's Ministry of Health and the country's Director-General of Health. Fepuleai is an honorific (or chief title) from her family village of Saleaula, Savaii, Samoa. He has held DHB lead Chief Executive roles in Primary Care and Public Health. The fact that there has been no official rejection of his comment suggests it is in fact government policy, so he was either making public something that had already been decided but not yet announced, or, worse, that he was telling the nation and the government at the same time what he expected to be the case. This was a major policy announcement that, if it is in fact government policy, should have come from either the Prime Minister or the Minister of Health, not a public servant. He will bring a strong focus on partnership with Te Aka Whai Ora Mori Health Authority, Manat Hauora Ministry of Health, and our other health sector stakeholders. In November 2020, Dr Jones was awarded a New Zealand Public Service Medal Award for his exceptional contribution to health in Hawkes Bay. Bloomfield has already said, however, that he is confident in the systems and processes in place to respond to the pandemic after he leaves. [7], McElnay later moved with her husband to Napier in 1995. Acting Director-General Of Health Appointed | Scoop News How much of the air you're breathing is air someone else exhaled? Dr Jones has worked in public health for more than 30 years. Although based in the Public Health Agency, Dr Jones will also provide public health leadership to the National Public Health Service, the incoming Deputy Director-General for the Public Health Agency, Dr Andrew Old says. The Deputy Public Service Commissioner has today announced the appointment ofDr Diana Sarfati as Director-General of Health and Chief Executive, Ministry ofHealth. [10], Colleagues describe Bloomfield as "measured, methodical, calm and sensible". But, sadly, yet again, rather than rely on previous practice or international advice, this Government thought it knew best. [17] In the first half of 2018, Bloomfield was seconded to the Capital & Coast District Health Board where he was interim chief executive. [31], In the 2023 New Year Honours, Bloomfield was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to public health. Uncertainty about upcoming health sector reforms may also have been a factor, with the ministry being moved into a strategy and monitoring role while Health NZ will run the health system. She is very knowledgeable about the health reforms and is dedicated to improving equity of outcomes in the health system.. "It has been an incredibly busy two years and Niki is one of the heroes of our Covid response.". As our journalists work to ask the hard questions about our recovery, we also look to you, our readers for support. The ministry said in a statement that a process was underway to recruit a new Director of Public Health, but Dr Jim Miller, from Toi te Ora Public Health, Bay of Plenty DHB, would be the acting director from April 11. No longer does he appear as the impartial adviser offering considered, detached professional advice to the Government, but rather more as the explainer, amplifier, and defender of the Government decisions, in a manner that not even many ministers demonstrate. The Director is responsible for the overall delivery of their assigned workstream. Jacinda Ardern says a change in Covid-19 traffic light settings would not make a significant difference on surging case numbers. Consequently, in specific Covid-19 emergency response legislation passed last year the Government made it clear that the Health Act provisions would no longer apply and that the powers previously exercised by the Director-General would now be exercised directly by the Minister of Health. But the Health Act 1956 also provides that so long as the Director-General is a qualified medical practitioner, he or she can exercise the same powers in an emergency as a local Medical Officer of Health, but on a national basis. The Prime Ministers recent admission that the Director-General attends Cabinet meetings when Covid-19 is being discussed reinforces the worrying reality that the Director-General is now no longer an impartial public servant, but an unelected quasi-minister participating in the Cabinets decision-making in a way that no public servant previously has ever been allowed to do, no matter the crisis at hand, or which party has been in government. She is currently a commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Health Systems and Cancer, a member of the International Advisory Committee to Lancet Oncology, a member of the Board of the International Cancer Benchmarking Programme (ICBP), and a member of the Advisory Committee to the International Agency for Research on Cancers (IARC) Pacific cancer hub. Interim Director, Prevention Astrid Koornneef, Maria Lafaele, Interim Pacific Lead, Directors Office, Tofilau Talalelei Taufale, Interim National Pacific Health Commissioning Lead and Pacific Lead RSE and Transformation, Pauline Fuimaono Sanders, Interim National Pacific Health Workforce Lead, Teei Kaiaruna, Interim National Pacific Integrated Contracts Sprint Lead, Namoe Tuipulotu, Interim National Pacific Intelligence Lead, Amanaki Misa, Interim Hospital Services Re-design Lead (Te Waipounamu), Director, Intelligence Dr Juliet Rumball-Smith, see NPHS regional structure under 'Regional leadership' below, Interim Lead - Hospital and Specialist Services, Te Tai Tokerau Northland Tracey Schiebli(1 Jan - 30 June 2023), Interim Lead - Hospital and Specialist Services, Te Toka Tumai Auckland Dr Mike Shepherd(1 Jan - 30 June 2023), Interim Lead - Hospital and Specialist Services, Counties Manukau Dr Vanessa Thornton(1 Jan - 30 June 2023), Interim Lead - Hospital and Specialist Services, Waitemat Mark Shepherd(until new appt. Dr Dale Bramley - National Director, Improvement and Innovation Dr Nick Chamberlain - National Director, National Public Health Service Fionnagh Dougan - National Director, Hospital & Specialist Services Jeremy Holman - Chief Infrastructure and Investment Officer Rosalie Percival - Chief Financial Officer In her previous role, Abbe worked with the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health in Brisbane, supporting the development of community-controlled commissioning frameworks for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She managed large government programmes such as the White Paper for Vulnerable Children and the development of the Vulnerable Children Act. Markerita has also worked as the Director of Pacific Health for the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre where she led the regional (from Northland to Counties Manukau) approach to the Pacific health response to COVID-19 and partnered with the Pacific Provider Collective to develop a regional commissioning framework to deliver adaptive models of care. Government appoints new Director General of Health | Stuff.co.nz Given the governments constant and frequently stated position that its Covid-19 response has always followed the public health advice, the legal niceties of the Covid-19 emergency legislation notwithstanding, the reality has been that the Director-Generals advice has normally prevailed. Between 2015 and 2019 Dr Sarfati was co-head and then head of the University of Otagos Department of Public Health. Fionnagh brings a clinical background to her work. [2] With the Government having decided in the middle of the pandemic to completely upend the organisation of the public health system over the next two to three years, and the current mounting crisis regarding the availability of intensive care beds, it would not be unreasonable to expect the Director-General to be at the centre of all those issues, but there currently seems to be a vacuum of official leadership or even interest in these matters. Interim Executive Director,Change Management Office TBA, Mahaki Albert, Maiaka Whakaruruhau Tikanga (Chief of Tikanga), National Director Markerita (Meg) Poutasi. He stated that this measure would boost the number of the New Zealand population receiving water fluoridation from 51% to 60%. Between 2015 and 2019 Dr Sarfati was co-head and then head of the University of Otagos Department of Public Health. Dr Sarfati has a PhD from the University of Otago, is a NZ College of Public Health Medicine Fellow and until 2008 was a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine. The longer it goes on, the more difficult it will be to return to a more normal situation. The giant hole being left by Ashley Bloomfield at the top of the Ministry of Health is getting larger, with two top public health leaders also leaving this week. Fionnagh is a Member of the Health Roundtable and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Celia has a background as an organisational psychologist, with over 12 years delivering organisational development consultancy services across the public and private sectors. She was also joint Associate Director of Nursing: Mori at Auckland District Health Board and the University of Auckland for four years. The departures of Bloomfield, McElnay, and Stefanogiannis raise questions about what impact their vacancies will have in a pandemic that shows no sign of ending, with possible resurgences in cases in coming months, including over winter, and new variants inevitably arriving here. There may be those who would say that the exigencies of the Covid-19 response have been such that it is pedantic and unrealistic to expect normal conventions to apply during such a time, when the focus should be on getting things done, rather than how they are done. "Dr Jones is very well-respected in the health sector, and he brings considerable experience and knowledge with him.". Dr Nick Chamberlain has been appointed Health New Zealand's national director of the new National Public Health Service. As the chief steward for the health system, the Ministry will continue to set the strategic direction for health and will be responsible for developing national policy, regulation and monitoring. Bloomfield will be in his role for the first stages of the new health system, with the establishment of Health NZ and the Mori Health Authority from July 1, replacing the country's 20 district . In many ways, the unhealthy relationship between ministers and the Director-General undermines the usual separation between ministers and officials and, by extension, the impartiality of the public service. This article, written by David Codyre, Ainsleigh Cribb-Sua and David Todd, outlines progress in rollout, challenges faced and what is being learnt, Health priorities of older adults often include longevity, however health outcomes such as quality of life and independence are often considered to be as important or more important than a long life. Andrew was a 2018/19 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow, and was based between the Clinical Excellence Research Center at Stanford University and the Social Interventions Research Evaluation Network at UC San Francisco. She was Director of the Cancer and Chronic Disease Research Group at University of Otago. "She has been a tower of strength to me personally and to the rest of the ODPH (public health team). Joe is a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practice, and also has a Master of Public Health (Health System Management). Consumers should seek advice from a health professional and not act in reliance on any statement contained in the information provided. He joined Manat Hauora from the Bay of Plenty DHB where he was Executive of Director Allied Health, Scientific and Technical. Dr Jones has worked in public health for more than 30 years and has been part of the DHB executive leadership team as Health Improvement and Equity clinical director. The Ministry of Health is the Governments chief advisor and steward of New Zealands public health system. Im pleased to announce that Dr Nicholas Jones will take the role of Director of Public Health, which is so important to the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders, Dr Bloomfield says. She completed her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Otago in 1991. 5 Director-General of Health Hawke's Bay doctor lands top job at Ministry of Health - NZ Herald [2], McElnay was appointed to the role of director of public health at the Ministry of Health in 2016. Interim Director, Outbreak Response - Matt Hannant. She has been appointed for five years from 1 December. The Deputy Public Service Commissioner has today announced the appointment of Dr Diana Sarfati as Acting Director-General of Health and Chief Executive, Ministry of Health. The Governments first focus throughout the pandemic has been political choreography, not the public health response, writes Peter Dunne. Dr Sarfati has held a number of national and international roles. How will the position be transitioned back to the more standard role of a department chief executive, like every other chief executive? The Public Health Agency formally came into existence on 1 July 2022. . Interim Director, Prevention - Astrid Koornneef. Audio. McElnay plans to spend the next six months travelling, according to a ministry email obtained by the Herald and written by deputy director general of population health Deborah Woodley. Our leadership - Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand Fionnagh has also been Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland and a Past President of Children's Healthcare Australasia. She also contributed to the set-up of the Childrens Ministry. That does not rule out swift, novel, or agile solutions being devised, but rather ensures that they are firmly, not capriciously, based. Within Manat Hauora, Robyn established the Mental Health and Addiction Directorate team and led the DHB Performance Programme which established an intensive support programme to support DHBs with performance challenges. The new agency will also advise the Director-General of Health on theses issues. She is passionate about equity and self-determination, is driven by a deep curiosity and excited by ingenuity. Dr Ashley Bloomfield's key moments as director general of health - NZ Her last day in the role was 7 April. "After five years in the role of director of public health and five years of commuting from her Napier home Caroline has decided the time is now right for her to explore new opportunities and, initially, a wonderful six months of travel with her husband," Woodley said. [30], Bloomfield is to become the first professor of a new Public Policy Impact Institute at the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Video / NZ Herald. So stand by for a change in narrative, Start your day with a curation of our top stories in your inbox. New Zealand Doctor Online is not a consumer medical advice service. by section 111(1) of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 (2000 No 91). Catch up on the week's top stories, written by our award winning authors. She has a very strong focus on transformation of health structures to reflect Te Tiriti in both action and equity. Robyn has worked in the health sector for over 30 years. Dr Ashley Bloomfield is stepping down as Director-General of Health. Dr Sarfati holds Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Public Health and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from the University of Otago. Meet the executive team members of Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand. He would also bed in the reforms as he was staying on as director general until July 29. Nicholas Jones to replace Caroline McElnay as director of public health The Director of Public Health is a key statutory role providing public health leadership across the Public Health Agency and the National Public Health Service within Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand), and provides professional support and oversight for Medical Officers of Health. One of the strengths of the senior public service in New Zealand has been the collegiality between departmental chief executives and their senior managers across the spectrum, where they have mutually supported and encouraged each other when challenging situations arise to ensure that they always act within the public service ethos.