Pharmacists standing for DHB elections

28 July 2010

At least one community pharmacist has put his hand up to contest a seat on his local district health board, while another one is hoping for re-election to continue his campaign for pharmacy.

Pharmacy 547’s Ian McMichael has filed his nomination papers for elections to Waikato DHB and is currently campaigning to win a seat.

Mr McMichael, along with business partner Alice Littlewood, scooped the supreme award at the Pharmacy Awards in June.

This month, the Health Workforce New Zealand announced funding to extend his highly successful Anticoagulation Management Service pilot to 15 pharmacies around the country.

Mr McMichael tells @PharmacyToday he has spent 28 years working as a frontline health professional, dealing with people's health needs on a daily basis. The experience, he says, has positioned him perfectly for a seat on the DHB.

“I have also worked closely with the Diabetes Society, Plunket Society, Asthma Society and am an honorary pharmacist for Hospice Waikato, so I think I have a good grasp on community health issues,” he earlier told a local newspaper.

Mr McMichael moved to Hamilton in 1982 to begin his career as a pharmacy intern at Waikato Hospital. Since then, he says he has seen massive changes in the way health services are delivered.

Auckland pharmacist and Waitakere City councillor Warren Flaunty, QSM, is also filing the papers for re-election to the Waitemata DHB.

Although Mr Flaunty’s term as a councillor is ending later this year when Waitakere City Council is amalgamated into the Auckland super city, he plans to continue his involvement in local politics through the Henderson-Massey local board.

He has been an elected member of the Waitemata DHB Board for seven years and is currently chairman of the DHB’s Community and Public Health Advisory Committee (CPHAC).

Mr Flaunty has been a community pharmacist in west Auckland since 1967 and is currently involved with several local organisations, including Waitakere Licensing Trust, Massey Community Board and The Trusts Charitable Foundation.

Both Mr McMichael and Mr Flaunty say they are well aware of the challenges faced by their respective DHBs, such as an ageing population, and say it will require innovation, good governance and fresh ideas to ensure a sustainable future.

On his first term as the Waitemata DHB member, Mr Flaunty says it has proved to be his internship in the DHB politics and the second term should help him get his teeth into more complex issues.

Mr Flaunty was instrumental in educating doctors when the Graseby pump was introduced into New Zealand around 15 years ago for use in palliative and terminal care. He has also worked closely with the west Auckland hospice since its inception.

He says pharmacy is often the first port of call for the public and the free advice given often keeps patients out of secondary care.

Do you know of any other community pharmacists who are active in local politics or DHBs? Write to rkumar@pharmacytoday.co.nz

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