The ongoing scandal surrounding Pharmac is exactly why the next government needs to open the organisation up to patient consultation and greater accountability, according to the ACT party. 

It was revealed last week Friday that the government agency’s chief executive Sarah Fitt had been criticised by the health minister, Maharey and the public services commissioner for “unacceptable” and “unprofessional” comments about journalist Rachel Smalley and her campaigning efforts to reform the drug-funding entity. 

Newstalk ZB PLUS asked the organisation whether Fitt would comment on the matter, however, they referred back to their previous statement by Maharey.  

“The board chair is the spokesperson for Pharmac on this matter.” 

In his statement, Maharey said the board had “communication” to Fitt that her comments, both made by her and other members of staff, in internal emails were “unacceptable and unprofessional”.   

Smalley, who most recently was a Today FM host, had been an outspoken critic of Pharmac and the way it decides which drugs to fund. 

Fitt wrote several emails, including regular messages to her communications team about Smalley’s tweets. 

In July 2022, Fitt sent to her communications team a Today FM tweet, highlighting an article that Smalley had written on the radio station’s website about a group of cancer patients funding their own drugs. They would have been dead if they were relying on the public system, Smalley wrote. 

“Sigh...” wrote Fitt in the email header field. 

Yesterday, Labour leader Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking the comments were “unacceptable” and were not appropriate. 

“I think this is unacceptable.” 

It was up to Maharey, a former Labour minister, to say whether Fitt should be sacked our over it saying “there are employment matters after all,” he said. 

But ACT’s health spokesperson Brooke van Velden has come out swinging saying judging by the comments made internally, “they are more concerned about their public profile than providing the best medicines access possible to New Zealanders”. 

“Advocating for medicines is not trivial or “nauseating” as one Pharmac staffer described it. Wanting to keep people alive and asking for more and better medicines is a conversation the public should be included in.” 

Van Velden said Act’s medicines strategy would ensure patient consultation helped contribute to a more evidence based public debate on whether Pharmac was meeting taxpayers’ expectations. 

“The strategy will be informed by patient consultation, it would ensure regular performance reporting and international benchmarking of Pharmac, and it would require a streamlined approvals process.” 

According to the Herald, Maharey met with senior executives and leaders on Monday. 

In a statement on Monday afternoon, Maharey said he had met “face to face with the senior leadership team and instructed them to identify actions that can be taken to prevent a situation like this from happening again”. 

He expected these actions to be presented at the next board meeting later this month. “The full board will consider if the actions suitably address the matter.” 

It is unclear whether Fitt was at the meeting virtually - an out-of-office email reveals she is on leave until October 24, the Herald reported.