Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Ian Powell
Otaihanga Second Opinion is a regular health systems blog in New Zealand.
Ian Powell is the editor of the health systems blog 'Otaihanga Second Opinion.' He is also a columnist for New Zealand Doctor, occasional columnist for the Sunday Star Times, and contributor to the Victoria University hosted Democracy Project. For over 30 years , until December 2019, he was the Executive Director of Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the union representing senior doctors and dentists in New Zealand.
Ian Powell - Latest News [Page 6]
The Immorality Of Moral Equivalence
Thursday, 17 March 2022, 7:48 pm | Ian Powell
On 14 February, in an earlier Political Bytes blog posting, I wrote about the anti-vaccination occupation of Parliament grounds and surrounding streets and other locations. rights, responsibilities and the far right influence An important ... More >>
Ukraine War – A Continuation Of Politics With The Admixture Of Other Means
Thursday, 10 March 2022, 7:47 pm | Ian Powell
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz (1780-1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the ‘moral’ and political aspects of war. He is a source of many succinct quotations with arguably the most well-known being “War ... More >>
Peaking Of Omicron?
Sunday, 6 March 2022, 7:32 pm | Ian Powell
MartinJenkins consultancy director Nick Davis continues to produce interesting and relevant data on Covid-19 pandemic trends. This is even more so when they provide insights into what is happening or might happen in Aotearoa New Zealand. He has done ... More >>
Collective Interactions, Imitative Behaviour, Delusion And A Dickensian Tin Kettle
Sunday, 27 February 2022, 6:51 pm | Ian Powell
For several years I have subscribed to the New York Review of Books which has been a literary delight. Its overall political orientation is not mine but this adds to rather than detracts from its intellectual appeal. Unfortunately I have a backlog ... More >>
Time To Tax Property Speculation
Friday, 25 February 2022, 6:16 am | Ian Powell
When she became Prime Minister, following the September 2017 general election, Jacinda Ardern’s government established a working party to advise on taxation, including a possible capital gains tax. This was actioning a Labour Party election commitment. ... More >>
Wellington Now Faces A Public Health Emergency
Monday, 21 February 2022, 8:31 pm | Ian Powell
There have been many things said about the escalating debacle involving the occupation in and around Parliament grounds in Wellington. I’ve already blogged an assessment in my previous Political Bytes post: Rights, responsibilities and far right ... More >>
Health Systems, Patient Safety And Swiss Cheese
Friday, 18 February 2022, 7:59 am | Ian Powell
Recently I was strongly recommended by a friend to read a book by Michael Lewis titled The Premonition: A Pandemic Story . He reckoned it was the kind of book I would really like. I quickly bought it and his assessment was spot on. I say this ... More >>
Rights, Responsibilities, François-Marie Arouet And Far Right Agendas
Monday, 14 February 2022, 8:51 pm | Ian Powell
In 1981, although not a leader, I was an active participant in the massive protests against the Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand. South Africa was then under the tyrannical racist apartheid dictatorship responsible for the deny of fundamental ... More >>
Self-evident Health System Truths
Tuesday, 8 February 2022, 8:06 pm | Ian Powell
On 1 February BusinessDesk published an article by me on two self-evident truths in Aotearoa New Zealand’s health system. One involved the woeful neglect of workforce shortages (especially health professionals) and the other was the decision ... More >>
An Oath That Stands The Test Of Time
Saturday, 5 February 2022, 8:10 pm | Ian Powell
The Hippocratic Oath is an oath of medical ethics historically taken by all doctors. It is the earliest expression of medical ethics establishing several principles which remain of paramount significance today, including confidentiality ... More >>
An Undeclared State of Emergency
Thursday, 3 February 2022, 9:19 am | Ian Powell
The Declaration of Independence initially drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted in 1776 by the 13 British colonies of what now constitutes the eastern seaboard of the United States begins with the following powerful words: "We ... More >>
Trashing New Zealand’s Pandemic Response
Thursday, 27 January 2022, 8:30 pm | Ian Powell
On 15 January BusinessDesk published my article comparing internationally the effectiveness of New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic since early 2020: Giving the world our best shot I used two main comparators – mortality rates ... More >>
Chief Executives And Health System Improvement: A Canterbury Tale
Friday, 14 January 2022, 7:41 am | Ian Powell
The online daily publication Newsroom has impressed me with its investigative journalism. It certainly punches above its weight. Among its quality investigative journalists is Christchurch based David Williams. Among Williams’ subjects has been the unprincipled ... More >>
A Story Too Familiar For Comfort
Sunday, 9 January 2022, 7:34 pm | Ian Powell
On 4 January the British newspaper the Guardian published an insightful article by its health policy editor Denis Campbell: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/04/nhs-is-in-crisis-but-the-roots-go-much-further-back-than-omicron?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other . Campbell is an experienced journalist. He’s been writing for the Guardian and ... More >>
The Madness Of Health System Restructuring In A Pandemic
Sunday, 19 December 2021, 6:40 pm | Ian Powell
Three main pillars were described in the ‘health reforms’ for New Zealand’s health system announced by Minister of Health Andrew Little in April. The ‘reforms’ are being lined up to take effect in July next year. Two of these pillars make good ... More >>
A Covid Graph That Reveals So Much
Thursday, 16 December 2021, 6:38 pm | Ian Powell
The Australian Department of Health, States and Territories regularly reports on a range of Covid-19 data such as daily infections and deaths. These reports also include hospitalisations (both in wards and in intensive care units). The data as ... More >>
Integrity And Vaccine Production: Lessons For New Zealand
Thursday, 9 December 2021, 5:32 pm | Ian Powell
Reputable medical journals such as the British Medical Journal (BMJ) are invaluable not just for doctors but for those that observe health systems and policies, both of which are intertwined with the practice of medicine and science. Nowhere are these ... More >>
‘Health Reforms’ Ernst & Young Revenue Stream
Tuesday, 7 December 2021, 10:20 am | Ian Powell
First published at https://otaihangasecondopinion.wordpress.com/2021/12/07/health-reforms-ernst-young-revenue-stream/ When the Labour Party came in power in 2017, leading a coalition government, it brought with it an understandable strong distrust of the Ministry of Health or at least its ... More >>
Commissioning And Contracting: Indicative Language For New Zealand’s Public Health System
Tuesday, 30 November 2021, 6:23 pm | Ian Powell
Recently I received a revealing email from an experienced hospital specialist who had been at the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) annual conference (virtual). The member expressed pleasure that Minister of Health Andrew Little did ... More >>
Distracted Health System Leadership Neglects Kidney Transplants
Thursday, 25 November 2021, 10:26 am | Ian Powell
There are few things more self-evident that when a government focusses on major health structural change. Pressing issues in the health system are neglected by the system’s political and bureaucratic leadership. This is self-evident in several ... More >>
