Health New Zealand’s boss for the South Island Martin Keogh is to step down.
The announcement comes as he was set to lead a team which would oversee changes at Nelson Hospital following a scathing review released last week.
In an email to staff this morning, the deputy chief executive for Te Waipounamu said he had chosen not to extend his 12-month contract which was due to end in September.
“It was a tough call to make, but the right one for me and my family.” Keogh is from Australia and said his family was still there.
He ended the email: “Thank you for having me as your leader. It’s been humbling and I’ve learned a lot from you all and about myself.”
In an interview with 1News on Wednesday, Keogh said he and Nelson Hospital boss Lexie O’Shea raised concerns about patient care at Nelson Hospital before doctors went public earlier this year.
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“Lexie had already escalated those through the various structures that we have in place around Health New Zealand. I also escalated the concerns.”
He declined to say whether they acted quickly enough.
“I think one of the things that we’ve not probably done as well as we’re in a position to probably share where we’re up to with some of these things with our clinical people.”
In his email he said recruitment for his permanent replacement was underway and that he had offered to stay on as a long as needed.
