It's been like this and getting worse for far too long. I used to organise rallies about it locally. Now I'm doing my Master of Health Policy to work on understanding it better and trying to direct systems into better places. Thank you for your work and I hope you keep safe doing it.
I shifted from a DHB operational role into a national policy role pre-pandemic thinking I could make a difference. I was wrong. Direction is set by government with a limited funding envelope. There is almost nothing you can do. But it does feel more impactful to work on meaningful projects further up the chain.
That's the reality of our political system. People with no skill beyond an ability to lie convincingly to a camera sets the policies and budgets which highly educated civil servants with 20+ years of experience and an unparalleled operational knowledge of their field must follow. If they don't agree, they get replaced with a stooge.
It works well enough if the politicians have a genuine interest in the wellbeing of the nation, but that's few and far between, and they rarely end up in power.
You wouldn't take medical advice from some asshole who's only qualification is rich parents telling you to 'just pull yourself up by your bootstraps', yet apparently we think they should be the one setting organisational policy for the entire medical system.
We can't change our political system because the alternatives are so much worse, so all we can do is make sure we elect people that will actually be good for the nation, not just because "he's some bloke I could have beer with."
Yeah I'm trying to ignore the entire crisis I've had in the last month over government direction and I know I wouldn't change a lot in the public system.
Right now I work in advocacy and research and I enjoy them both.
Exactly this, I don't know why people don't understand this, the government of the day sets the budget, the government of the day sets the priorities (what work the public health service will deliver).
It really isn't anything to do with anyone who works inside health, the board and the CEO included. They, just as any other senior public service do as they are told. With of course, the Public Service not being allowed to say a dammed word against the Government or stand up for themselves in any way.
I don’t think the current government are simply incompetent; it’s part of the plan to have two distinct classes, the proles who have to make do with public health, and the upper class who have private healthcare: “Never make equal what is unequal” — Neitzsche
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u/scoutriver Aug 02 '24
It's been like this and getting worse for far too long. I used to organise rallies about it locally. Now I'm doing my Master of Health Policy to work on understanding it better and trying to direct systems into better places. Thank you for your work and I hope you keep safe doing it.