ASMS

“The Government needs to listen closely to the small group of highly trained clinical experts working in the country’s national forensic pathology service, who are warning of unintended consequences in years to come if the service is dismantled,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). He was commenting on an interview this morning with forensic pathologist Dr Paul Morrow about planned changes to the national forensic pathology service: https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018659186/crisis-looms-in-nz-forensic-pathology-service. Forensic pathologists have warned …

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The national forensic pathology service in this country is on the brink of collapse – and Justice Minister Andrew Little is refusing to intervene despite the advice of clinical experts, says the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). “The seriousness of the current situation cannot be over-stated,” says ASMS Executive Director Ian Powell. “If these services fall over, we will be left with a gaping hole in our ability to determine the cause of death in situations that are unclear …

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“Senior doctors welcome today’s news of a pay deal reached with nurses and congratulate this group of health professionals on their perseverance and determination,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). He was commenting on today’s announcement by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation that the collective employment agreement for nurses, midwives and health care assistants had been settled after nearly a year of negotiations (https://www.nzno.org.nz/about_us/media_releases/articletype/articleview/articleid/2826/dhb-meca-ratified-by-members). The pay deal has been welcomed by Prime …

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“Legislated health targets would be a clunky, heavy-handed way to monitor public hospitals and could end up putting patients at risk,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). “If they were made a legal requirement, then governments would need to ensure a requirement to adequately fund our public health services was also enshrined in law. You can’t have one without the other.” He was commenting on reports that National wants to make health targets …

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“ACC’s medical advisors have called off planned strikes as significant progress has been made on two issues greatly concerning them,” says Lloyd Woods, a Senior Industrial Officer with the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). ASMS represents most of the medical advisors employed by ACC, who provide specialised medical advice on claims. They have been striking over a stalemate in their negotiations for improvements to pay and conditions under their collective employment agreement. The next four-hour strike was planned for …

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“Health Minister David Clark is to be commended for brokering an accord on safe nurse staffing levels in public hospitals,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). “This is a very welcome initiative from a Minister who clearly wants to make a real difference for patients and health professionals.” Mr Powell was commenting on the Health Minister’s announcement that an accord had been reached between district health boards, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and …

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An address by Ian Powell, ASMS Executive Director, to the Hospital and Community Dentistry Conference, Queenstown, 28 July 2018. Address to Hospital and Community Dentistry Conference 28 July 2018

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“The Whitecoat website that rates doctors is looking more and more dubious on closer examination,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). “It seems that doctors can be added to the website without their permission and the only way they can then have any semblance of control over what appears is if they then go through a process of ‘claiming’ their profile, which the website says they might then be charged for. “If they …

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“The launch of a website that allows patients to rate their doctors sets a dubious precedent with no guarantee of greater transparency or improved quality of care,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). “Not only that, it raises serious concerns about fair treatment of doctors if comments can be made about them without any context or attempt at verification. For example, what happens if a doctor initiates child protection proceedings because they are …

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ACC medical advisors will walk off the job again today (Wednesday 25 July) for four hours over their unsettled collective employment agreement. “They’re very unhappy about ACC’s continuing refusal to negotiate properly with them,” says Lloyd Woods, a Senior Industrial Officer at the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). “They’re not asking for a lot, or for anything unreasonable, but ACC just won’t listen.” The strike goes from 1pm until 5pm, and is the second in a series of five …

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