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The push to merge the Nursing Council’s regulatory and support services with the 15 other regulatory authorities continues with a detailed business case being developed.

The Nursing Council has expressed ongoing reservations about the Minister of Health’s merger proposal but is part of a steering group spending up to $250,000 commissioning a business case into a full shared secretariat.

“The Nursing Council remains unconvinced that full amalgamation would result in greater efficiencies and/or lower costs for this regulatory authority,” said Nursing Council chair Margaret Southwick.

The Council, the largest by far of the 16 regulatory authorities (RAs), believes that one of the Minister’s aims – a national health workforce database – is possible without merging the authorities’ regulatory services.

Southwick said the Council was always open to working collaboratively with other RAs but was “cautious about proceeding down any pathway that we believe might undermine the validity and credibility of nursing regulation within the New Zealand context”.

The division between the authorities over the scale of the merger (the Medical Council

and Dental Council are understood to be in favour of a full merger) led to the setting up of the steering group, with three representatives from each camp.

The steering group, chaired by former Health & Disability Commissioner Professor Ron Paterson, has been asked to develop a detailed business case (DBC) for the proposal that the “RAs collaborate across all their functions (including regulatory, IT, finance, and support services) to ensure better regulation of the health professions in New Zealand”.

Paterson said the steering group was “working very well together” and making “good progress”. The group is on target to sign the contract, worth up to $250,000, with the selected business case provider before Christmas.

The resulting business case is due to be completed by mid-April and presented to each of the 16 authorities for them to decide whether they support implementing the proposal.

Southwick said the Nursing Council has been advised that the Minister has limited options under the Health Practitioner Competency Assurance (HPCA) Act to compel authorities to merge. “Without a change to the Act, it would have to be a voluntary move on the RAs part.”

A review of the HPCA Act is underway by Health Workforce New Zealand, with further consultation on proposed changes to the Act scheduled to take place in March and April next year (see online NewsFeed story Nov 16 on NZNO concerns about Act review).

The business case provider has been asked to report back on how the authorities currently function, develop a DBC on a single shared secretariat (including identifying associated costs and benefits and a supporting IT strategic plan), advise on shifting to shared premises, plan for all transition and implementation costs, and estimate the impact on annual practicing fees for health professionals.