Margie Apa resigns – Dale Bramley appointed interim CEO

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth 

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora chief executive Fepulea’I Margie Apa has resigned from her role four months early to allow space for a “different leadership approach”.

National director of the Planning, Funding and Outcomes business unit, Dale Bramley, will be the interim chief executive, starting today (February 7).

Apa’s term formally ends in June, however she says Health NZ is “at a point in the reset where a different leadership approach is required to take us forward, and I would like to make space for that now”.

She has been chief executive of the organisation since February 2022, taking on the challenge of transitioning New Zealand’s health system from 20 district health boards into a single entity.

In July 2024 a commissioner was appointed to the organisation, tasked with improving the organisation’s finances and a system ‘reset’ was initiated. Health NZ posted a deficit of $722 million in the past financial year.

Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy says and he and Apa mutually agreed on the decision and thanked Apa for her service.

“(Margie) Apa has an extraordinary work ethic and from the day of my appointment she has worked extremely hard to support the new work programme,” he says.

“The reset is a significant change in direction from where Health NZ was heading but she realigned entirely to the programme.”

Health Minister Simeon Brown said Apa had remained committed to ensuring access to healthcare services while Health New Zealand grappled with significant operational and financial challenges stemming from the health system reforms.

“I acknowledge Apa’s decision to step down as chief executive of Health New Zealand and thank her for her service,” he says.

“I look forward to working with (Dale) Bramley to ensure Health New Zealand focusses on its core role of ensuring access to timely, quality healthcare for all New Zealanders.”

Bramley is director of the new business unit called Planning, Funding and Outcomes, which brings together people from service improvement and innovation, commissioning and hospital and specialist services, alongside data analytics and reporting.

Health NZ has already started advertising to fill Apa’s role, saying it is looking for an “exceptional chief executive to lead the organisation through significant change with a laser-like focus on delivering on the Government and Minister of Health’s priorities for health”.

The job advertisement says the scale of HNZ is unprecedented within the country, as it employs 85,000 FTE staff, has a $27b annual revenue and manages an asset base of $16b.

Picture: Outgoing chief executive of Health NZ Margie Apa

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