A new senior official with oversight of the country’s public health services has been appointed.
Dr Corina Grey has been appointed as the new Director of Public Health, following the resignation of Nicholas Jones last month.
In February, the Ministry of Health confirmed that Dr Nicholas Jones would step down from the role at the end of the month.
It came among widespread upheaval in the wider public health sector.
The Director of Public Health is a statutory role providing public health leadership across the Public Health Agency, within the Ministry of Health, and the National Public Health Service within Health NZ.
Deputy-Director General Dr Andrew Old, who heads the Public Health Agency, said Grey was a public health physician with “an extensive career working in research, epidemiology and public health”.
“She has been involved in many health research projects over the last 20 years with research interests that include population and heart health, health equity, improving health care access, and the health of Pacific peoples,” he said.
Grey has previously served as Deputy Secretary of Policy and Insights at the Ministry of Pacific Peoples, and was currently the chairperson of the National Verification Committee for the Elimination of Measles and Rubella.
She was also on a number of committees and councils, and lead author on several national Pacific health publications.
The appointment followed the exit of some high-profile health officials this year.
On February 7, Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa announced she would be resigning four months before her term officially ended.
Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati also resigned from her role in February.
It also followed the replacement of Dr Shane Reti as Health Minister with Simeon Brown.
