The sudden departure of chief nurse Mark Jones from the Ministry of Health has surprised the sector.
After four years in the key nursing post, Jones resigned late last year and did not return to the ministry after taking annual leave.
In a farewell letter to nursing leaders, Jones said while his departure might seem “rather sudden” he had been pondering his future direction when toward the end of the year he found himself “in a position where I felt moving out of the Ministry was a good option for me”.
The ministry declined to say why Jones had left. It issued a statement to Nursing Review by deputy director general of health Margie Apa saying it “wished Mark well in his next endeavours” and was grateful for the contribution he made to nursing in New Zealand.
She also said the role of chief nurse would be advertised in “due course” and in the interim Christine Andrews was acting chief nurse.
Jones said in his letter he had “options to consider” and was keen to continue to contribute nursing developments in New Zealand and the region.
New Zealand Nurses’ Organisation chief executive Geoff Annals said in a statement that NZNO had not been informed by the ministry about the circumstances surrounding Jones’ departure. He also said the organisation wished him well.
College of Nurses executive director Jenny Carryer was also unable to comment on the reasons behind Jones’ departure.
She said under Jones’ leadership the advisor position had been built from a “one-man band” into an established team of senior advisors under the chief nurse. He had also made strong steps in building connections with directors of nursing and developed a major commitment to New Zealand nursing.
Carryer looked forward to the new appointment as the role of chief nurse was critical for ensuring nursing input into key health policy across a wide spectrum.
Annals said the NZNO also looked forward to the appointment of a new chief nurse as 2010 was an important time for nursing, especially with the development of the new National Health Board and the renegotiation of the DHB multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) covering more than 20,000 nurses across the country.
“We hope that the new chief nurse will demonstrate a real vision and passion for nursing. NZNO looks forward to working closely with that person.”
Jones thanked nursing leaders in his letter for their support in helping the sector develop the profession and raise its profile over recent years.
Jones was recruited from the United Kingdom to take up the position in 2005. The UK-trained nurse spent 13 years as primary care policy and practice advisor to the Royal College of Nursing before becoming the director of the UK’s third largest nursing union – the primary health focused Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association – in 2002. He was also instrumental in introducing the nurse practitioner role in the UK and in 1995 spent six months on a US Public Health Service fellowship working with Hillary Clinton’s right hand man Ira Magaziner on proposals to reform the US health service.
