Time for change as Susan Devoy quits Auckland District Health Board

By MARTIN JOHNSTON, health reporter

Dame Susan Devoy has quit her Auckland District Health Board seat, questioning the power of health boards and the value of elections.

The former squash star and now chief executive of Sport Bay of Plenty said the main reasons for her departure were the pressure of the two jobs and constant travelling between Auckland and her Tauranga home.

"It doesn't do justice to the people that elected me [since] I have moved out of the area," said Dame Susan, who was elected on the Citizens & Ratepayers-Now ticket.

She said health boards handled big tasks and needed people with the right skills.

"Relying on elections, there's no guarantee in that. It's well known that in elections females and recognisable faces are more likely to get on. That can work well, but sometimes not."

Dame Susan acknowledged these factors helped her win her seat in 2001.

She also believed the real power lay with Health Minister Annette King and the Health Ministry, although the Auckland board "have achieved a lot more than probably they will get credit for".

Former athlete Erin Baker quit her seat on the Canterbury health board last May, saying she was frustrated at not being able to make much of a difference on health issues. In November, a Victoria University-led study found widespread concern about the relative powerlessness of district health boards.

But Ms King yesterday defended the decentralised system of partly elected boards her Government introduced in 2001.

A spokesman said she remained committed to health board democracy and open meetings.