Doctor hits out at minister's replacement of Medical Council leadership

17 minutes ago

Health Minister Simeon Brown has said the Medical Council has become "increasingly distracted by politics".

Photo: RNZ / Louis Dunham

The head of the union for senior doctors is "outraged" at the health minister's replacement of the Medical Council's leadership.

The Medical Council oversees the registration of doctors in New Zealand, and sets the standards for their medical practice.

The Post has reported that Simeon Brown declined to re-appoint the existing chairperson Dr Rachelle Love and deputy chairperson Simon Watt when their terms expired, despite both remaining eligible for reappointment.

The Post reported that Brown said the Medical Council has become "increasingly distracted by politics", and pointed to the council's recent consultation on draft statements covering cultural competence, cultural safety and Māori health and well-being.

RNZ has approached the minister for comment.

Dr Katie Ben - president of the Association for Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) and an anaesthetist in Nelson-Malborough - said the medical profession needed to have independent self regulation and could not be subject to the whim of the health minister of the day.

Dr Ben said she was "outraged" and that many of her colleagues locally and nationally were angry at this unprecedented move by a health minister.

She said cultural safety was critical to good medical care.

"Outcomes for Māori patients in particular, but anybody from a minority - we know our healthcare outcomes are not nearly as good as they could and should be. Culturally safe care is about addressing those inequities.

"And I'm really sorry minister, but culturally safe care is not going to go away just because you don't like it," she said.

"Cultural safety does say, look at your own biases, I wonder if the minister needs to look at his," she added.

Dr Katie Ben.

Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton said the minister's move set a dangerous precedent in political interference with a regulatory body.

She said it was really concerning that the minister was expressing a preference around leadership because of the core work that the council was doing as a whole.

"The minister's comments and position he's adopted are borne out of his ignorance of what doctors need to know and what doctors need to do to operate safely and effectively in the New Zealand context.

"It's really disappointing that, if those views as reported are an accurate reflection of the minister's position, that's a massive cause for concern," she said.

Dalton said cultural competence was about making sure medical practitioners were aware of what their own assumptions and prejudices may be, and to ensure that they understood the context of their patients' lives.

The minister could benefit from education on these matters, she said.

Dalton said it was unprecedented for a health minister to ignore the recommendation of the Medical Council on these appointments.

She said ASMS was also deeply concerned by proposed changes to the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Act, which she said would allow ministers to direct independent regulators to implement government policy.

"This approach could leave us in a situation where medical standards chop and change with every new government.

"It also sends a worrying signal to other regulators: if you don't do what the minister wants, your people will be replaced," she said.

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