Veteran DHB chair Lester Levy. Photo: RNZ
Health NZ Te Whatu Ora's Commissioner Lester Levy has appointed Ken Whelan and Roger Jarrold as his Deputy Commissioners.
Whelan is the former Crown Observer brought in to oversee Health NZ in December, while Jarrold was the only other remaining board member when the government decided to replace the board with a Commissioner.
Levy, who was named as the Commissioner the same day that decision was announced, was chairperson of Health NZ's board from 1 June until 23 July.
Health NZ's board is required under the Pae Ora Act to have between five and eight members, but was down to two - Levy and Jarrold - after a series of resignations and members who declined to rejoin when their terms ended.
Levy announced the new appointments at a Health NZ all-staff hui on Friday 1 August, and published on Te Whatu Ora's website the same day.
Jarrold will take up his role with immediate effect, with Whelan starting from 5 August.
Both were appointed for 12 months, aligning with Levy's period as Commissioner. The term will then be reviewed, and Levy may be reinstated afterwards.
In his statement, Levy said Jarrold and Whelan's roles would include "strategic oversight of Health NZ's financial turnaround, development and implementation of our turnaround plan and ensuring Health NZ has robust financial management and accountability across the organisation".
"New Zealand needs a health system that is more integrated and delivers more and better healthcare for patients. To do this, we need the right people to help steward us through the coming months as we address our financial position and focus on realising the full potential of our health system for our patients, families and communities," he said.
Health Minister Shane Reti had previously brought Whelan in as a Crown Observer for Health NZ on 19 December, saying he would "assist the HNZ Board and management to work with the board to overcome a range of issues, including health workforce and hospital wait times".
No mention was made of Health NZ's finances in that release.
Whelan is a senior health executive with over 30 years as a Senior Manager and 20 of those years as a Chief Executive across a range of health providers and purchasers.
His strengths included strong collaborative leadership, organisational change, performance management and accountability frameworks, Levy said.
Jarrold was brought onto the Health NZ board in March via a notice in the NZ Gazette on 25 March, for a three-year term starting 29 March.
A chartered accountant who has worked as a chief financial officer for Fletcher Construction, Downer NZ, Kordia Group Ltd, and the former Auckland DHB, he has also been on the boards of the NZ Blood Service, Health Research Council, and the Finance and Audit Committee at Hutt Valley DHB and Capital & Coast DHB.
No announcement or statement accompanied Jarrold's board appointment in March. However, a late-April article from NZ Doctor said Jarrold "replaces the seat held by Dame Karen [Poutasi]", who was the chair before Lester Levy, but quit after less than a year.
Reti has since claimed the appointments showed he was growing increasingly concerned about the state of the organisation's finances.
He, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis, have continued to argue financial mismanagement by the board and senior leadership at Health NZ was what led them to appoint Levy as a Commissioner.
The law allows the commissioner to appoint up to three deputies.
The government separately last week appointed four deputy chief executives - who would each take charge of the four 'regions' in Health NZ's structure.
Meanwhile, Nicola Willis has also called for expressions of interest for the new Social Investment Board, while the Public Service Commission is seeking a Chief Executive for the new Social Investment Agency.
