Just a heads up for the NEHTA watchers.
I am told, by a reliable source, that outside a six story office in the Canberra CBD NEHTA is announced as the new occupant!
Would love someone from the fair city to confirm such is the case!
Seems NEHTA is planning a long and comfortable stay in the Nation’s Capital. So much for the BCG Report and a ‘new NEHTA’!
David.
6 comments:
If Nehta must go on why should it not get a new home in Canberra? Surely the BCG report will recommend continuance of Nehta albeit with some minor tweaking organisationally. Now that the Access Card has been discontinued we could expect to see Nehta expanding on its plans for a Nehta Health Card? That will involve shifting quite a lot of Access Card 'people' into new offices. The show must go on as they say. Change of Government won't have too much impact on that. The script writers are the army of bureaucrats not the Minister.
Maybe the building Nehta currently occupies is being demolished or the lease has expired. Any idea which building they occupy at present?
This is probably the best time to make the move. Xmas is here, the Minister is swamped, the BCG report should be released closer to Xmas, everyone is happy. Do you know if NEHTA is taking naming rights on the building? That’s the best way to subliminally cement one’s presence in the minds of politicians.
Perhaps it has something to do with what percent of NEHTA's funding comes from the Federal Government versus the other jurisdictions. What percent is it 10%? or 50%?
Then again maybe it has been decided that it's the Federal Government's turn to Chair NEHTA. That would make a lot of sense. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health (Jan McLucas) would be an excellent choice for Chair and provide good support for the Health Minister.
It also means that NEHTA which seems to have had some 'difficulty' with the State Jurisdictions (credibility etc, not surprisingly) could maybe wave a bigger stick and crack a few skulls in the State Jurisdicions if it was better entwined physically within the Canberra bureaucracy as part and parcel of the new round of Federal-State Health negotiations about to get underway.
Re NEHTA's Present Accommodation:
Palatial Offices in the Sydney CBD - so this is possibly a downgrade - but also bigger. Question is why does NEHTA need to be in any (expensive) CBD?
Re Funding:
Its 50% Commonwealth 50% Jurisdictions I believe.
Re Board:
Until there are 3-4 expert board members you can forget getting any leadership and quality decision making happening I believe. I do not think it would be a good idea to have a politician there.
David.
Accommodation
Downgrade is an interesting possibility but why not to a Sydney location versus Canberra. Sydney is where NEHTA’s CEO has built his base of operations - why shift the tent to Canberra? Unless there is to be a sudden ‘influx’ of ‘additional’ people.
How many people did NEHTA employ this year who were Canberra based? Any idea? Where were they housed? Why do they have to be moved?
Funding
As the Commonwealth has responsibility for 50% funding then, given the controversy NEHTA has attracted and its questionable performance, it would, under the circumstances be silly of the Commonwealth not to insist on having more say and more influence over NEHTA’s direction. Perhaps the BCG recommendations reflect this.
Board
Absolutely. The Board needs some new ‘expertise’ among its Board members who are not part of the ‘bureaucracy’, of that there is no doubt. It is a political decision to ‘fix’ the health system and ehealth(IT) is fundamental in helping bring about the process of change. Perhaps allowing a ‘politician’ to sit on the NEHTA Board and have a say (not necessarily Chair the Board) might be sensible. There is always a first time for everything. Politicians, shouldn’t have to be wrapped up in cotton-wool.
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