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New DHB chair says hospital buildings will be a 'priority'
11:53 am on 29 April 2018
Mark Gosche takes over as chairman of Counties-Manukau DHB this week and is promising to focus on its building issues.
Photo: RNZ / Jesse Chiang
"You can't deliver a quality public health system if the infrastructure isn't right so clearly it's got to be fit for purpose and it's got to be safe, so that will be one priority," he said.
"My appointment doesn't start until May 3 so at the moment I'm no wiser to that stuff than any other member of the public. So the first thing is to get there and get the briefings and read the papers and talk to the people who have been working on that."
He said he would also be working closely with board members and DHB staff to build help build confidence in the leadership team.
"Those people have been under a lot of pressure in recent times and really need to be reassured that they've got a board and a leadership that they can be confident in."
Mr Gosche said he would also be focused on managing the wider reasons people had to access public healthcare.
"There are big issues in the community out there around access to healthcare, equity issues that the community confronts. Those are the big issues that I really want to get to grips with.
"Those fundamental things have to be got right otherwise you end up having to spend more and more at the expensive end at the hospitals."
Fundamentally we have to take a much broader approach to the health of our communities than just looking at everything through the lens of a hospital."
He said he supported the appointment of a Crown monitor.
"I thought that was a really important step for [the Minister] to take to give the support to myself and the rest of the board and to have someone there making sure we are doing what the community expects of us."
Health Minister David Clark has also appointed a Crown Monitor, Ken Whelan who will support the board and attend all meetings.
Dr Clark said the DHB is dealing with a number of complex issues including an urgent need for Capital investment and forecast rising deficits.
The Auckland and Waitemata DHBs also have new chairs.
The former Human Rights Commissioner and newspaper editor Judy McGregor will head the Waitemata DHB.
And a former chairman of the Auckland DHB, Pat Snedden will resume that role.
They are all replacing Lester Levy who previously held all three chairs.
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