Dr Anthony Jordan quit as a director of Pharmac on Friday following the government's directive the agency should stop factoring Te Tiriti o Waitangi into its decisions. Photo: YouTube / Ministry of Health
A Māori health advocate says the resignation of a Pharmac director is a loss to the drug-buying agency.
On Friday, Dr Anthony Jordan announced he "could not with good conscience" work for Pharmac following directions to stop factoring Te Tiriti o Waitangi into its decisions.
Jordan joined the Pharmac board in December 2021 as one of the directors and his term was due to end in December 2024.
The evidence in favour of continuing to factor the Treaty into decision making was clear, Jordan told RNZ on Friday.
Former Te Aka Whai Ora chief medical officer Rawiri McKree Jansen said Jordan was a man of considerable clinical experience.
"Dr Jordan has made an incredible contribution in a general sense to the health system, really appreciate the work that he's done, I'm really sad that he had had to take this action and step down off the board of Pharmac because he really made a great contribution."
McKree Jansen said there had been concern about the government's Pharmac direction.
In a letter to Pharmac's board chairperson, Associate Health Minister David Seymour set out his expectations for the agency.
"Pharmac's role should focus on delivering improved health outcomes underpinned by robust data and evidence, in accordance with its statutory responsibilities," he wrote.
Seymour earlier said he respected Jordan for resigning as if someone did not agree with an organisation's direction "the respectable thing is to say it publicly, step down and let others who do agree with the direction get on with it".
