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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 8]
Health Minister Behaves Badly Towards Nurses
Sunday, 1 August 2021, 2:09 pm | Ian Powell
Arguably Minister of Health Andrew Little is the MP in the New Zealand Parliament with the greatest experience and knowledge of collective bargaining between employers and unions. For several years he was an effective leader of the Engineering, Printing ... More >>
Doctors Call For Vaccine Development In New Zealand
Thursday, 22 July 2021, 4:25 pm | Ian Powell
Originally published at https://otaihangasecondopinion.wordpress.com/2021/07/22/doctors-call-for-vaccine-development-in-new-zealand/ On 10 June the Democracy Project published online an article by me on why New Zealand should seriously consider developing its own vaccine manufacturing and supply, particularly ... More >>
Boris The Barbaric Threatens More Than The UK
Sunday, 18 July 2021, 7:25 pm | Ian Powell
Last Tuesday my oldest daughter Lana returned from London where she teaches for six weeks during the northern summer. That same day I was one of two panellists on Radio New Zealand’s The Panel which runs Monday to Friday from 3.45pm to 5pm. Much ... More >>
Has The Government Mishandled New Zealand’s Vaccine Rollout?
Saturday, 10 July 2021, 8:02 pm | Ian Powell
If one were to accept the statements of National Party leader Judith Collins and her Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop, along with other critics, the Labour government has badly mishandled the Covid-19 vaccine (Pfizer) rollout in New Zealand. To assess ... More >>
Funding General Practice In New Zealand
Thursday, 1 July 2021, 3:32 pm | Ian Powell
Universal public healthcare in New Zealand was enabled by new ground-breaking social security legislation in 1938 under the first Labour government. It has been the foundation for our health system ever since aside from a failed ideological market experiment ... More >>
Canterbury And Cardiff & Vale: What Some Don’t What To Know About
Saturday, 19 June 2021, 4:52 pm | Ian Powell
The King's Fund is an independent thinktank focussing on the health system in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1897 it is a non-government organisation and charity that actively publishes research and analyses as well as organising conferences and other ... More >>
Slogans And Sound-bytes Don’t Make A Collective Bargaining Strategy; Ask New Zealand’s Nurses
Monday, 14 June 2021, 2:08 pm | Ian Powell
Originally published at https://otaihangasecondopinion.wordpress.com/2021/06/14/slogans-and-sound-bytes-dont-make-a-collective-bargaining-strategy-ask-new-zealands-nurses/ The Labour government’s ‘strategy’ for collective bargaining between district health boards (DHBs) and the various health unions can best be described as a slogan. ... More >>
Ian Powell: Lessons For NZ From Cuba, The Covid-19 Vaccine Powerhouse?
Friday, 11 June 2021, 9:39 am | Ian Powell
What can New Zealand learn from Cuba about fighting Covid-19? Plenty, especially in terms of producing vaccines, according to Health commentator Ian Powell . As the Medical Director for the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners Dr Bryan ... More >>
A Fleeting Health System Consensus
Sunday, 23 May 2021, 4:02 pm | Ian Powell
Last week I published in the Victorian University hosted Democracy Project the second part of a two-article series of the escalating clash between the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) in the context of the recovery ... More >>
Early Health System Initiatives: Elk City, Saskatchewan And Kurow
Friday, 21 May 2021, 5:15 am | Ian Powell
Last year I read a fascinating article published by the monthly Le Monde Diplomatique on early health system initiatives in the United States’ Elk City and Canada’s Saskatchewan province https://mondediplo.com/2020/08/02populism-expertise . This ... More >>
Improving Income Support Critical For Improving Health System
Sunday, 16 May 2021, 5:42 pm | Ian Powell
Minister of Health Andrew Little claimed that his recently announced health restructuring was bold. But it was only bold in the sense that whiteboard warriors are bold. Sitting behind this embellished claim is the unacknowledged view that structural change drives ... More >>
Pay Freezes, Health Systems And Medical Specialists
Monday, 10 May 2021, 10:50 am | Ian Powell
What has a pay freeze got to do with a universal public health system? Actually quite a lot. Health systems, especially public hospitals which handle the more complex and urgent cases that the rest of the system can’t fix, are by their very nature ... More >>
Pharmac's Welcome Transparency Highlights Need For Real Bold Government Action
Sunday, 2 May 2021, 4:56 pm | Ian Powell
The Pharmaceutical Management Agency (known as Pharmac) is a crown entity that decides, on behalf of New Zealand’s district health boards (DHBs), which medicines and pharmaceutical products are subsidised for use in the community and public hospitals (I use the ... More >>
It’s Just Not Cricket (nor Olympian For That Matter)
Thursday, 29 April 2021, 1:01 pm | Ian Powell
Originally Published at https://otaihangasecondopinion.wordpress.com/2021/04/29/its-just-not-cricket-nor-olympian-for-that-matter/ I’m what’s known as a cricket nut (or cricket tragic as some cruelly say). I played cricket for well over 40 years at school and in Wellington, Christchurch and ... More >>
District Health Board Considers Directly Employing General Practitioners
Thursday, 15 April 2021, 4:52 pm | Ian Powell
Like almost every economically developed country outside the ‘Disunited States’, New Zealand has a universal health system that endeavours to be accessible for all, comprehensive, high quality and affordable. The country is well placed to achieve ... More >>
Health Minister Little Gives Thoughtful Keynote Speech… But
Sunday, 28 March 2021, 5:22 pm | Ian Powell
Last Thursday (25 March) I was interviewed live on Radio New Zealand’s The Panel about a keynote address the previous day by Minister of Health Andrew Little on the implementation of the review of the health and disability system led by Heather Simpson. ... More >>
Very Good Fluoridation Political Call, Dr Verrall
Sunday, 21 March 2021, 2:35 pm | Ian Powell
Infectious diseases specialist Dr Ayesha Verrall was a surprise cabinet appointment being a first-time MP. Despite the rarity she’s not mucking around. This is evidenced by her legislative proposal, as Associate Minister of Health, to shift decision-making ... More >>
Pointer To Government Rethinking On District Health Boards?
Thursday, 18 March 2021, 3:00 pm | Ian Powell
On 4 March I blogged on Otaihanga Second Opinion about recent indications that the Government was rethinking its position on one of the two main pillars of the structural overhaul of New Zealand’s health and disability system recommended by the Heather ... More >>
Health System At Risk By Government Abdicating Leadership Of Simpson Review Implementation To Business Consultants
Sunday, 14 March 2021, 5:51 pm | Ian Powell
The Government is putting the health system at risk by abdicating the leadership duties and responsibilities of its Health Transition Unit to external business consultants. The Unit is based in the Prime Minister’s Department and is responsible for the ... More >>
DHB Deficit Drivers
Sunday, 7 March 2021, 5:54 pm | Ian Powell
On 1 March 2021 Minister of Health Andrew Little was reported by the Otago Daily Times giving Southern District Health Board (SDHB) a stern message over its high deficit level. The Minister’s implied message was clear that SDHB was largely responsible ... More >>
