WARNING: This story deals with a suspected suicide and may be distressing.
A mentally unwell young man with a substance abuse disorder was under a compulso
Tom Lee/Stuff
Former Waikato DHB member Dave Macpherson believes the new health system could make it fairer for people (file photo).
The abolition of District Health Boards is a “brave move” that could be a good one according to a Waikato man who joined his board to push for change after the death of his son in the health system. Former Waikato DHB member Dave Macpherson served on the Waikato Board, when first implemented in 1998 and again in 2017 for two years, before then-Health Minister David Clarke sacked the Board over performance issues. On Wednesday it was revealed that all 20 District Health Boards will go, replaced by a single health organisation to centralise the country’s fragmented healthcare system, and end the “postcode lottery” of care.