Just four months before the end of her term, Margie Apa stepped down from her position as chief executive of Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand). 

She will be replaced in the interim by Dr Dale Bramley, the organisation's national director of planning, funding, and outcomes. 

"Although my term formally ends in June, Health New Zealand is at a point in the reset where a different leadership approach is required to take us forward, and I would like to make space for that now," she said in a statement. 

THE LARGER CONTEXT

The reset she is referring to is the ongoing budget cuts and other cost-saving efforts to address Te Whatu Ora's financial woes. These have seen funds diverted from digital and data to frontline services. A commissioner was appointed in July last year to oversee this specific work. 

"The reset is a significant change in direction from where Health NZ was heading but she realigned entirely to the programme," said Commissioner Lester Levy. He mentioned that Apa's resignation was a "mutually agreed" decision.

In July 2022, Apa took the fixed three-year term role as chief executive of the newly reorganised health system. She was previously the chief executive of the now-defunct Counties Manukau District Health Board.

"Margie Apa was the first to hold the position of chief executive at Health [NZ], taking on the challenge of transitioning New Zealand’s health system from regional district health boards into a single entity following the previous government's reforms in the middle of a pandemic," Health Minister Simeon Brown explained in a separate statement.

"I am pleased to have played a part in that shift. There is progress we have made – we are delivering more care than before to more people both in our hospitals and in our community and primary care sector," Apa exclaimed.

A formal recruitment process to find the next Te Whatu Ora chief is underway. The position will head an organisation of an "unprecedented" scale, Te Whatu Ora said in a job post. It currently employs 85,000 full-time staff, has a NZ$27 billion ($15 billion) annual revenue, and manages an asset base of NZ$16 billion ($9 billion).