Minister of Health Simeon Brown appears to be acting as if proposed law changes are already in effect.
The Minister has declined to re-appoint Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) chairperson Dr Rachelle Love and deputy chairperson Simon Watt to the council when their terms expired, citing the council’s “ideological agenda”.
General Practitioners Aotearoa (GPA) is concerned the Minister is presupposing proposed changes to the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Act (HPCAA).
“Frankly, Minister Brown has said some very troubling things by way of context,” says GPA chair Dr Buzz Burrell.
“By biggest concern is his comment about the core responsibilities of the MCNZ.”
Brown told The Post the Medical Council should focus on “its core responsibilities of improving patient outcomes and ensuring New Zealanders can get the care they need, when they need it”.
“That is absolutely not MCNZ’s job or purpose,” Burrell says. “That is the Ministry of Health’s job and it seems the Minister is trying to prematurely foist responsibility onto another organisation.”
As it stands, MCNZ is a “responsible authority” under the HPCAA 2003 and has a mandate to set standards for the medical profession.
The Government’s proposed changes would remove the specific reference to “including competencies that will enable effective and respectful interaction with Māori”, and would increase powers for the Minister of Health to direct MCNZ regulators’ decision making.
“The Minister is free to appoint as he wishes, but should of course face scrutiny for that,” Burrell says.
“He is not entitled to subvert the processes of parliament and assume changes to the Act will progress before consultation has occurred.”
