Membership and committees

Membership

The Medical Council has eleven members appointed by the Ministry of Health:

• six medical practitioners
• one member of an academic staff of a faculty of medicine, and
• three laypersons. Layperson is defined as a person who is neither registered nor qualified to be registered as a health practitioner.

Note: By law, the membership of the Medical Council must include a majority of members who are doctors. The membership must include three laypersons if the Medical Council has at any time nine or more members.

Committees

The Medical Council forms a number of committees that are responsible for a specific area of our work. These are the:

• Audit committee
• Education committee, and
• Health committee.

Introducing our Council members

Dr Richard H Acland (Rick)

MB ChB 1975, FFARACS 1982, FFANZCA 1992, FAFRM 2004

Dr Acland commenced anaesthesia and pain management practice in Auckland in 1983.  In 1995, he moved back to Christchurch to be clinical director of anaesthesia until 1998.  At the start of the new millennium, he succeeded Professor Alan Clarke as clinical director of the Burwood Spinal Unit.  He was president of the New Zealand Pain Society in 2002 and 2003 and has been a member of the Medicines Assessment and Advisory Committee since 1996.

His grandfather, Sir Hugh Acland, was a pre-eminent surgeon in Christchurch.  His wife is a doctor and his son is a 4th year medical student in Dunedin.

Dr John Adams

Dr Adams was appointed Dean of the Dunedin School of Medicine in 2003. He is a University of Otago graduate, subsequently training in psychiatry, gaining his Fellowship of the Royal Australian and new Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1984 and working for many years at the Ashburn Clinic in Dunedin, where was appointed Medical Director in 1988.

He has had extensive involvement with the NZMA, initially as a Council delegate, then Board member and subsequently NZMA Chairman from 2001 to 2003. A long term interest in professionalism and ethics then led to him becoming Chair of the NZMA Ethics Committee, and leading the current review of the NZMA Code of Ethics.

He is a member of the RANZCP Ethical Practice Committee and teaches in the Professional Development Programme in the undergraduate course in Dunedin. He is a Trustee on the NZ Institute of Rural Health, the Ashburn Hall Board of Trustees, and the Alexander McMillan Trust.
 

Dr Barnett Bond (Barnett)

Professor A John Campbell (John)

MB ChB 1969, MD 1983 Otago, DipObst, MRACP, FRACP

Professor Campbell joined the Council in 2001. Since 1995 he has been the Dean of Otago’s Faculty of Medicine. He is also Professor of Geriatric Medicine (1984 -) and Consultant Physician and Physician in Geriatric Medicine (1980 -) with the Otago District Health Board.

He has numerous professional affiliations and was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability. He was a member of the Australian Medical Council accreditation committee from 1997-2000. He has convened or been a member of government committees on services for the elderly; he is a member of international journal advisory boards for Age and Aging, Reviews in Clinical Gerontology and holds other editorial board positions.

Professor Campbell has held several World Health Organisation appointments in the Pacific region and elsewhere. He has undertaken numerous research projects particularly in the field of fall and fracture prevention, and been an invited speaker at a host of international meetings in his expertise. His work is extensively published in books and refereed journal articles.

Ms Liz Hird (Liz)

LLB (Hons)

Liz has been a barrister since 1987 and has a wide-ranging commercial and administrative law practice.

She has had a long involvement in community health beginning with the founding of the Otaki Women’s Health Group in 1987. She was also an initial member of the Otaki Community Health Committee of the Area Health Board and founding trustee and chair of the Otaki Community Health Trust. Recently Liz has been a member of the Otaki Community PHO Steering Committee.

Liz is also national legal adviser to Health Care Aotearoa (Inc), a network of community primary health providers and PHO’s. In 2002 she was appointed a District Inspector of Mental Health Services for MidCentral DHB.

Dr Moller has worked as a junior doctor in Auckland, New Plymouth, rural India and England, and in general practice in New Zealand and London. He specialised in Rheumatology and worked in Dunedin and Christchurch as a member of the University Department of medicine until 2004.

Dr Moller was chair of the Canterbury Association of Physicians 1992-1998 and a member of the Medicines Assessment Advisory Committee, Ministry of Health, 1974-1994.

He has been an adviser to the pharmaceutical industry and was a member of the editorial board of the New Zealand Medical Journal, 1999-2001.

Dr Moller currently works as rheumatologist in Christchurch.

Dr Kate O’Connor (Kate)

BHB, MB ChB 1995 Auckland, FRANZCR

Kate graduated from Auckland University in 1995 and completed her vocational training in Diagnostic Radiology in 2002. As a house officer she worked in Waikato and Tauranga hospitals and as a registrar worked in all of the public hospitals in Auckland city. Following completion of her training she was a locum consultant at Middlemore hospital for a short time before taking up a permanent position in Tauranga where she works in both public and private practice.

Kate is a Life Member of the NZRDA having participated on the National Executive for six years including two years as National President.

Dr Ian M St George

MB ChB Otago 1965, DObstRCOG FRACP FRNZCGP DipEd MD Otago 1990

Ian St George is a Wellington general practitioner, Medical Director of McKesson New Zealand (the operator of Healthline), and has been 2001-2006 medical adviser to the Medical Council.

He has held a number of offices in the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners, and has been its Chief Censor. He has many professional affiliations including membership of the International Physicians Assessment Coalition, and has been a member of a number of national nongovernmental organisations in health.

He is the author of many papers and several books, is editor of Cole's medical practice in New Zealand, now in its 5th edition, and has served as editor of the NZ Family Physician, and as editorial board member of the NZ Medical Journal and a number of international family medicine journals.

Mrs Heather Thomson

Heather Thomson is in her second term as a public member of the Council. She has been a public member on many boards ranging from the Cartwright Committee, the Public Health Commission, Maori Health Commission and the Bay of Plenty District Health Board. Heather lives in Whitianga Bay in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, 50 kms east of Opotiki. Heather's interest in health has been mainly in health management and in the development of services for Maori, community and rural development. Her hapu is Ngati Paeakau, her Iwi te Whanau a Apanui.

Judith Fyfe

Judith Fyfe has a background in research and communication. Prior to

co-founding the New Zealand Oral History Archive with Hugo Manson she worked in Television as a journalist and in the film industry.

Currently she practises as a barrister specialising in forensic law. She lectures in oral history in New Zealand and the United States and is contracted by the

Oral History Centre, Alexander Turnbull Library to carry out contemporary oral history projects.

Her publications include The Gamble – Campaign Diary of the Challengers (ANZ Books 1984) (co writer Hugo Manson); The Matriarchs (Penguin, NZ, 1990) and War Stories – Our Mothers Never told Us?; Oral History An Introduction to Social Research in New Zealand (Editors Carl Davidson & Martin Tolich, Massey University) (Addison Wesley Longman NZ).

Judith Fyfe is also a partner in City Associates, a film production company, a former director of Radio New Zealand Limited, a former member of the Arts Board of Creative New Zealand. She is a current member of the Copyright Tribunal and the Film and Literature Board of Review.

In addition to involvement in a number of community organisations she is a long-time member of the Wellington Medico-Legal Society.

Introducing our staff

The Chief Executive and approximately 40 staff support the work of the Council in offices based in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.

Philip Pigou – CEO

Philip was appointed by the Medical Council in November 2005. Philip has a Bachelor of Law degree and a postgraduate Diploma in Business focusing on general management and leadership.

Philip has worked in senior positions in the health sector (Health Funding Authority and South Island Shared Service Agency Ltd) and in the courts.  He has strong experience in change and project management, strategy development, and leadership.

Philip is responsible for the management of the Medical Council. This includes:

• achieving the strategic and business objectives of the Medical Council,
• ensuring the Medical Council is a good employer, and
• ensuring that all policies, processes and systems support the work in operation of the Medical Council. 

Philip is the direct manager of the Registrar, managers and advisers within the Medical Council.

Simon Robb – Registrar

 Simon joined the Medical Council in June 2006. Simon is responsible for all matters arising from the statutory provisions of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 and gives first level advice to the Medical Council, managers and staff.

Simon has an Honours degree in Law and an Arts degree in Sociology. He has previously worked for the (now) Waikato District Health Board, the former Health Funding Authority, and District Health Boards New Zealand (DHBNZ).