Media release from the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists

"Hawke's Bay DHB chief executive Chris Clarke is the victim of corporate assassins" said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today.

"His surprise resignation is a huge set-back to our work with him in developing comprehensive clinical leadership in Hawke's Bay. More than most DHB chief executives, Mr Clarke (along with some of his fellow senior managers) grasped the importance of allowing senior doctors to be in the engine room of DHB decision-making."

"His resignation is the direct result of the government's foolish decision to bring back the former board to an advisory governance role.  The government completely disregarded the conclusion of the independent expert investigation that some key former board members had a toxic relationship with senior management and that some had performed very badly in the management of conflict of interest (including personal business interests).  Right at the time when the DHB was moving forward in both developing clinical leadership and improved fiscal performance, the government acts to reinstate toxicity."  

"Working together we had reached a point when arguably the relationship between senior management and senior doctors in Hawke's Bay had never been better. But now there is an atmosphere of vengeance with some individuals looking to settle accounts. We will be unsurprised if Mr Clarke is not the only resignation. We have strong fears of intimidation and victimisation to follow."

"The Board Commissioner Sir John Anderson has been a big disappointment. Until very recently we all, including Mr Clarke, believed that we would continue to work together on our shared objective of expanding clinical leadership in the DHB. However, by bowing to pressure and doing a U-turn in forcing the resignation of Mr Clarke, Sir John has blown this apart.  The debacle is a direct response to the conflict between a public health culture, on the one hand, and a business and banking culture, on the other."

"Or, given that he is a keen cricketer, to put it another way, Sir John has made Australian underarm bowling look good."

"The only way Sir John can go a little way to redeem himself is to ensure that an interim chief executive is appointed from within Hawke's Bay DHB with a strong commitment and ability to work with senior doctors on expanding clinical leadership."

"As with several other chief executives from time to time we had our differences with Mr Clarke.  But we always found him professional, competent and oozing in integrity.  Working with him we were on the threshold of developing something very significant on clinical leadership in Hawke's Bay.  Mr Clarke had two main weaknesses - he was too nice a guy and he didn't wear a back shield.  In a number of other DHBs these weaknesses would be considered strengths."    

"Given the backstabbing and dirty politics it is going to be very difficult to find a competent permanent replacement chief executive from within New Zealand.  Who, knowing what they know, would be insane enough to want to come?"

"Our advice to the eventual permanent replacement is bring your own specially strengthened back shield," concluded Mr Powell.