Thomson was considered for chairman's role

Richard Thomson.
Richard Thomson.
Richard Thomson was considered for the role of chairman of the embattled Southern District Health Board, papers released under the Official Information Act show.

However, when contacted, Mr Thomson said he did not know a March 31 meeting disclosed by Health Minister Jonathan Coleman's office was for that purpose.

''That's news to me,'' Mr Thomson said yesterday.

He explained he was canvassed over several months for his view of the board's plight.

The board was sacked in June and Mr Thomson, a board member, was appointed deputy commissioner.

''At no stage was I informed or advised that I was being considered for any role [until the appointment as deputy commissioner].''

Dr Coleman is gaining a reputation for taking a different approach from his predecessor Tony Ryall, who sacked Mr Thomson as chairman of the old Otago health board over the Michael Swann fraud.

The papers also show Dunedin legal consultant Kathy Grant was considered for the role of chairwoman, and had a meeting with Dr Coleman's senior adviser on April 1.

Mr Thomson's initial meeting was also with a senior adviser, but he later met Dr Coleman face-to-face.

Mr Thomson and Mrs Grant were being considered for the position of chairman during the period of uncertainty when speculation mounted that Dr Coleman would sack the board. Mrs Grant was later appointed to the commissioner role.

The papers show Dr Coleman considered creating a new role called ''executive chair'', but the State Services Commission opposed it.

Mr Thomson, who was also meeting Ministry of Health officials, disclosed the meetings to fellow board members in June when they were drafting a response to Dr Coleman's threat to sack them, he said.

The Ministry of Health yesterday released two reports on the board written by Crown monitor Jan White. However, parts have been redacted by officials.

One said the effects of the board's size, dispersed population, interaction with the University of Otago, and tertiary-level services needed to be reassessed.

''Since the amalgamation of the Southland and Otago boards, performance has been poor, with only occasional relatively minor improvement.''

eileen.goodwin@odt.co.nz

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