Stephen McKernan

Please attribute these comments to the Director-General of Health Stephen McKernan.

The Ministry of Health today released a proposal for consultation with staff about the structure of the Ministry of Health.

The proposed structure is designed to support the changes to the health system that began in October last year.

The proposal also recommends a structure to reduce the number of full time positions within the Ministry to 1390 by the end of this financial year and 1290 by July 2011 - the Ministry currently has around 1420 full time equivalent staff. This proposal would see a reduction of approximately 35 positions this financial year.

While the proposal would change some roles and disestablish a number of positions, exact numbers will not be known until all Ministry staff have had the opportunity to provide feedback and the structure is finalised around mid to late May.

The priority for the Ministry now is managing the consultation process and supporting staff who are potentially affected by the proposed changes.

This is a proposal released to staff for consultation and it is inappropriate to make further comment at this point.