Health group backs board candidates

City Vision candidate Robyn Northey for the Auckland DHB. Photo / Greg Bowker

A leading primary health group has endorsed 21 of the 74 candidates for Auckland's district health board elections.

ProCare Health and its three primary health organisations, which receive about $110 million a year from the Government to serve enrolled patients, says it approached all candidates for the three health boards, offering to consider giving them an endorsement.

Endorsements have been bestowed on nine candidates, including four from the right-leaning Citizens & Ratepayers ticket and two from left-leaning City Vision - as well as on the C&R ticket as a whole.

C&R has put up seven candidates for each of the Auckland and Counties Manukau boards and two for Waitemata. Each board has seven elected positions.

"It's apolitical," Procare's chief executive, Ron Hooton, said last night.

"It's open to any candidate, and every candidate has received an information pack from us. Some have opted to seek our endorsement."

The aim was to help candidates be well informed about primary health care and candidates were invited for talks with ProCare.

Endorsement was given to those considered to have a "beneficial approach" to health sector changes and a primary care-led health system.

No applicants had been rejected, Mr Hooton said.

ProCare would not initiate any publicity about which candidates it had endorsed, but might tell its 600 GP members.

When asked if it was appropriate for an organisation that received state money to seek to influence voters, he said it was.

"We are not state servants, we are an independent organisation. It's only civil servants that need to stay apolitical."

When asked if ProCare endorsement could create a conflict of interest for elected candidates who had received the endorsement and then faced a board choice on which primary health organisations to give money to, Mr Hooton said boards had processes to manage such issues.

It would be up to board members to decide whether they had a conflict that needed to be declared.

Robyn Northey, a City Vision candidate for the Auckland DHB, welcomed her endorsement but said it came too late to be included in her electioneering pamphlets.

"I'm just telling people ProCare has endorsed me."