Sarah Fitt has resigned as Pharmac chief executive after seven years at the helm of the drug-buying agency.
The Pharmac board confirmed on Friday afternoon that Fitt had resigned, effective from the end of May. She will be on leave in April and May.
“The board and Pharmac are appreciative of all of Sarah’s work over her times as chief executive and her previous five years in senior executive roles in the organisation,” a statement said.
“Sarah has provided valuable leadership across significant projects and strategic initiatives. We thank her for her work and commitment over her 12 years with us.
“Sarah is looking forward to future endeavours and leaves with the thanks and best wishes of the board.”
Pharmac will shortly begin recruitment for a new chief executive.
Associate Health Minister David Seymour acknowledged Fitt’s service.
“Since becoming minister responsible for Pharmac, I have been impressed by Sarah’s commitment to focusing Pharmac on its core role of expanding opportunities and access for patients,” he said.
“I acknowledge Sarah’s decision to step down from the role and thank her for her work in providing modern healthcare for New Zealanders.”
Pharmac chief executive Sarah Fitt (left) and chairwoman Paula Bennett at a health select committee hearing. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Pharmac chair Paula Bennett was asked by Ryan Bridge on NewstalkZB whether Fitt resigned of her own accord or if she was pushed. Bennett said Fitt made the decision herself after reflecting over the summer.
“She’s incredibly proud of the work that Pharmac has done, particularly in the last eight months since they got the uplift in the Budget. I mean, 57 more medicines going to literally tens of thousands of New Zealanders and she’s led that work.”
Bennett said there would be a major cultural shift within the organisation.
“Things have to change. There’s no two ways about it. It’s not all Pharmac’s fault, but they got themselves into a situation where there weren’t great relationships with a whole lot of external stakeholders, they weren’t being as transparent and open, they were effectively working on a model that was put in in 1991.”
She said Pharmac is going to “look quite different”.
“I think you’re going to see quite a different organisation by the end of this year.”
Bennett hoped to see more efficient processes with Pharmac engaging with people earlier. The organisation would still like more money to get access to more medicines, she said.
Prominent patient advocate Malcolm Mulholland told the Herald on Friday that he welcomed Fitt’s resignation and wondered why it hadn’t come earlier. He believed Fitt lacked the trust of patients.
“I thought that, after we participated in the consumer workshops late last year, it was obvious Sarah no longer had the confidence of patient advocates and patients. My thoughts were the writing was on the wall.”
He said it was important that the Pharmac board should appoint someone outside the organisation, preferably from overseas. They should have experience with a well-functioning drug procurement agency, he said.
His observations of Bennett, a former National MP and Deputy Prime Minister, was that she was “up for the challenge” of improving the agency by making it more “responsive ... to the needs of patients”.
The Herald has contacted Fitt for comment on her resignation.
Associate Health Minister David Seymour acknowledged Fitt's resignation, saying he had been impressed by her commitment. Photo / Alex Burton
Bennett announced a “short and sharp” review last year into Pharmac’s internal staff culture and its relationships with patient groups and other stakeholders. It was conducted by Debbie Francis, who also led the damning review of Parliament’s workplace culture.
“Change is needed, there’s no two ways about it,” Bennett said at the time. “How we do that in a measurable way ... is what we’re trying to work out.”
After a board meeting this week, it was reported that further work had been commissioned to complete the review process. Another report was received by the board, informed by consumer advocate workshops held last year.
There was uproar late last year after Pharmac decided to switch the supplier of hormone replacement patches for menopausal women from Estradot to Estradiol TDP Mylan. The agency said that was prompted by a continued shortage of the popular patches.
Fitt said she understood people were concerned by the decision to switch brands, but it was Pharmac’s only option to secure supply.
However, Seymour said he didn’t believe Pharmac had consulted enough with patients and advocacy groups about the change and called for an explanation. More consultation was something Seymour called for in his letter of expectations to the agency last May.
Neither Seymour nor Bennett would express confidence in Fitt immediately afterwards. Bennett said she had been surprised by Pharmac’s decision.
Pharmac issued a statement last month that it was reconsidering patch options after community feedback. It was working with suppliers on an updated proposal to make more than one brand of patches available beyond December this year.
In November 2023, Seymour first called for a culture change within Pharmac as Fitt publicly apologised after the release of internal emails commenting on journalist Rachel Smalley’s efforts to reform Pharmac, which were heavily criticised by former Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall, her own board chair and the Public Service Commissioner.
At the time, Seymour said he was “wary” of Fitt’s conduct but said it was a matter for the board to assess her future as chief executive.
Seymour previously acknowledged there had been concerns expressed by patient advocacy groups that Pharmac hadn’t sufficiently changed its culture since his letter of expectations.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office.
