New Health minister Simeon Brown
Voice of health leaders vital as reforms begin
Where are the voices of our clinical leaders?
Recent media articles signalling nurse staffing shortages, proposed disestablishment of quality and safety roles, and a multitude of information technology roles are simply a small part of the plethora of other "reset" proposals in Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand.
These issues are not insignificant; I note most are raised by or responded to by proxy organisations such as union representatives or management.
So, I ask, where are the voices of our professional leaders? Our clinical chiefs? I believe we have quite a few within the system, however their silence on issues that matter to both the workers and the public users of healthcare services is deafening.
We are currently faced with as close to a dictatorship as we can be with the loss of a democratic governance board for Te Whatu Ora, and so as a national health system there are controls and structures that effectively silence our senior staff because of fear of being challenging to those who hold the hierarchical power.
After all the system is now run by the government.
The rules of engagement are subtle but clear. Acquiescence is expected, those who deem not to do so possibly have a limited career trajectory.
We need to ensure the clinical voice is actively engaged in responding and challenging the hierarchy, do not be fearful, do not let patient care be obfuscated by things that do not matter to the quality of patient outcomes.
I want to hear from our appointed professional leaders and chiefs, and I imagine subsequently that those engaged with our healthcare services may feel more confident that those within the system actually care and are responding to the things that matter.
Teresa Taylor
Pukerangi
[Abridged - length. Editor.]
Question of competence
Regarding the letter (21.1.25) from Ewan MacDougall in which he unfairly calls new Health Minister Simeon Brown incompetent.
The only reason I can see for this assessment is that Brown is ideologically opposed to your left-lurching correspondent and therefore needs to be cancelled.
In my view Simeon Brown has been a standout performer for the coalition government in the portfolios he has held so far.
Ewan McDougall is a regular correspondent who, because he is ideologically driven, is a strong supporter of the government financing of everything to do with the Treaty of Waitangi.
Would he agree that defunding everything to do with the Treaty, which would assuredly free up enough money for health infrastructure, is to the benefit of Māori and the rest of us and would be an acceptable solution to his Dunedin Hospital funding problem?
Dave Tackney
Fairfield
Burger issues
I really enjoyed Jim Sullivan's piece ODT (Opinion 14.1. 25).
However, he is spreading fake news about timing of the arrival of McDonald's in American Samoa.
My wife and I lived there at the time, and independent Samoa had enjoyed the product from the Golden Arches for some years before Pago Pago.
In fact, during that time, American Samoans spent up large on airfares between the two islands just to enjoy a burger feed.
An entertaining sideline to the story is that McDonald's had to amend its recipe to produce burgers big enough to satisfy the appetite of the Samoan customers.
Maybe I shouldn't be too hard on our man from Patearoa, maybe the President elect mis-spoke yet again.
Phil Thirkell
Wānaka.
A 2015 excursion train near Pukerangi. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Rail trip is a century-old message for today
A 2015 excursion train near Pukerangi. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
I recently enjoyed a journey on the Taieri Gorge Railway with a day excursion return trip to Pukerangi, some 70 years since I last travelled the line en route to Sutton for school army cadet camps.
The experience far exceeded my expectations. The carriage was comfortable, the commentary entertaining and informative, the scenery wonderful, and the food was delicious.
But what stood out for me, thanks to Robert's commentary, was the historic significance of the railway.
It should be regarded as a national taonga and worthy of listing with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, it surely meets most of the criteria for a listing.
The railway was constructed in the late 19th century thanks to the foresight of local and national politicians who wanted a railway built to get "over the garden wall" into Central Otago.
A project with a long-term goal, no matter the cost. Surely a message for today?
Warren Jowett
St Clair
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