Two executive leadership roles have been axed at Health New Zealand as the government agency faces a looming multibillion-dollar deficit.
The roles of Chief People Officer and Chief of Data and Digital have been disestablished, Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa confirmed today in a statement.
The move to slim down the executive team follows Te Whatu Ora’s push towards “empowering the regions and delivering on health targets”.
The first phase, she said, involved the establishment of regional deputy CEOs in August “to enable the devolution of responsibilities for integrated care delivery to communities with regional leadership”.
“I am now moving to the next phase of resetting enabling services to better support regions.”
Apa said the people in the disestablished roles “have made enormous contributions to Health NZ, and these have been difficult decisions”.
“These changes are all part of the wider HNZ reset to ensure we get back on budget, live within our means and deliver faster and easier access to healthcare for New Zealanders.”
It comes after a newly-released briefing on Tuesday raised the forecast deficit from $1.4 billion to $1.76 billion.
“Without interventions, Health NZ is estimated to continue to lose about $147 million every month, which would lead to a projected deficit of $1.76 billion by 30 June 2025,” a letter sent to the health select committee on September 18 read.
