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October 30, 2023
Smalley slam undermines Pharmac trust
Atereano Mateariki
Posted On October 30, 2023
Download AudioA patient advocate says an apology from the head of Pharmac for internal emails criticising journalist Rachel Smalley further strains any faith whānau and patients may have in the drug buying agency.
Pharmac CEO Sarah Fitt says she was ultimately responsible for leading and setting the tone for the organisation, and she failed to meet this expectation.
Malcolm Mulholland from Patient Voice Aotearoa says Māori need to know Pharmac is looking out for them and not brushing away criticism from where it comes.
“It’s really important that we know that they have patients at the very heart of everything that they do and see, especially for our own. Because, again, we have less means by which to self-fund the medication or we tend not to have insurance, so it’s really, really important that we have a faith and confidence in PHARMAC in doing the job that they’d put there to do,” he says
Mr Mulholland says the incoming government needs to set Pharmac funding at a realistic level.
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