Proposal to disestablish range of analytics and innovation roles

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

A number of analytics, improvement and innovation roles will be disestablished under proposals to 'simplify to unify' corporate and back office functions.

Data and digital roles are also amongst those potentially at risk as part of Te Whatu Ora proposals.

A Te Whatu Ora spokesperson says the organisation is entering the next stage of consultation on proposals to streamline roles to "better support frontline care".

Around 1600 staff are potentially impacted, including people in management and leadership roles and teams in back-office functions.

The first areas to go through the consultation process are the National Public Health Service, Commissioning, Finance, and Service Improvement and Innovation.

'Analytics and insights' sits under Service Improvement and Innovation. The proposed structure creates a number of new roles: it has a director of health analytics and insights, a national GM and four regional GMs of analytics and insights, with local managers reporting to them, alongside other roles.

A number of positions, such as data and analytics managers within what were DHBs and shared services agencies, would be disestablished across the county.

A similar structure is proposed for 'integration, improvement and innovation', with roles such as those at the i3 institute for innovation and improvement at Waitematā to be disestablished and new regional roles created.

Four directors in the Service Improvement and Innovation group have been appointed. Robyn Whittaker is director evidence, research and clinical trials; Delwyn Armstrong is director health analytics and insights; Tricia Sloan is director of operations and Hector Matthews is director consumer engagement and whānau voice.

Data and Digital is included in the change process, but their consultation has not started yet.

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New Zealand’s 20 District Health Boards, eight shared service entities and Manatu Hauora functions merged into the national Crown entity - Te Whatu Ora - in July last year.

Te Whatu Ora chief executive Fepulea'i Margie Apa says, "when we were merged on 1 July 2022, we put in place regional leadership teams to get through 2022 winter and Covid surges to ensure we did not disrupt care to patients and communities.

“This next change proposes to simplify how we work by streamlining teams that do similar work and reduce duplication across the country.”

Te Whatu Ora inherited more than 270 Tier 2 executive leaders from the previous 29 entities. The consultation proposes to reduce executive management to an estimated 110 Tier 2 and 3 leaders.

“Our aim is to simplify the way we work by putting in place teams that can nationally plan and coordinate for consistency, empower regional teams to integrate and implement care and enable locally tailored delivery of care,” she says.

Apa says Te Whatu Ora needs to be as prepared as possible for winter, with permanent leadership structures in place.

"We also want to provide certainty to teams about how we will be working together in the future," she says.

Each consultation will run for four weeks and decisions on the new structures are expected to start being finalised in early June.

Picture: Te Whatu Ora chief executive Fepulea'i Margie Apa

This article was updated on April 12, 2023

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