When Carole Heatly was appointed, it was hoped the newcomer's lack of loyalty would lead to "blood on the carpet'', in the memorable words of a well-placed source.
They meant taking on the medical establishment in the South, such as the Dunedin School of Medicine, which is vilified in certain quarters for the Southern District Health Board's financial woes.
• Heatly resigns from health board (+video)
By coincidence, in the same week as Ms Heatly's resignation, a report was released that suggests there is still an appetite for taking on the perceived vested interest in the status quo.
The vehicle this time is the $300 million rebuild of Dunedin Hospital, and Ms Heatly's successor will likely be charged with making any changes.
The report is heavy on anecdote about Dunedin doctors' use of public resources for research and private work, and lacks data to demonstrate the problem.
If the southern doctors are taken on, it is likely the public will be firmly on their side.
Public ire featured strongly in Ms Heatly's tenure, even though she did not live up to the hopes of those who wanted to see drastic change.
The food service outsourcing and the dumping of Presbyterian Support Otago from its home support contract seemed questionable in respect of whether the savings warranted the public angst.
Ms Heatly was criticised over a $70,000 pay rise, which was made public two years ago, and increased her salary to the $500,000 to $510,000 pay band.
While not out of line with other DHB chief executives, the sharp increase appeared out of touch at a time of cost-cutting.
Engaging a seemingly endless stream of consultants, whether to run "listening sessions'' to find a "vision'', or cost savings, appeared overly corporate and counter to the public mood.
She had to battle the rundown state of the clinical services building at Dunedin Hospital, which is a legacy of many years of deferred maintenance. At one stage she needed to give an undertaking that leaks would be fixed so that the operating theatres could function in "all weather conditions''.
Of course, the deficit loomed large during Ms Heatly's tenure, and led finally to the sacking of board members last year.
While taking it in her stride and never publicly complaining, Ms Heatly appeared sidelined after the sacking of the board members and appointment of commissioner Kathy Grant and her team, and her resignation follows the abrupt departure of three senior executives in the past six months.
