Expert Group

48. In December 1989 nominations were called for membership of the Expert Group. I was one of five consumer/community representatives appointed to the Expert Group. There were two Pakeha women - me and Corinne Stevenson of The Health Alternatives for Women in Christchurch, two Maori women - Waireti Walters, MWWL, and Linda Erihe, and one Pacific woman, Doreen Arapai, nominated by Pacifica.

49. I produce the terms of reference of the Expert Group at SC/3/0055. These were to:

    49.1 Advise on national policy
    49.2 Oversee the implementation of the programme
    49.3 Liaise with the National Co-ordinator who was to provide a mechanism for AHB managers to raise any concerns about implementation
    49.4 Oversee the introduction of treatment protocols and monitor adherence to them
    49.5 Monitor the suitability of all national education and publicity material prior to its final production
    49.6 Advise on the setting of performance indicators and realistic targets for AHBs
    49.7 Review the overall effectiveness of the National Cervical Screening Programme and its interaction with treatment services
    49.8 Identify any additional issues.

50. In April 1990 I was the consumer representative in the selection panel for the first National Co-ordinator for the NCSP. Gillian Grew was appointed to the position. She took up her position in June 1990.

51. The Expert Group was a large diverse group of people who had not worked together before. However it was a highly focused group that worked in a committed and cooperative way. The group had difficult decisions to work through and it lacked support from the Department of Health. I have the utmost respect for everyone who served on that committee. I wish to stress this in particular because I have seen the report by Sandra Davies, Manager of Women, Child and Adolescent Health, to the incoming National Government in 1990. This advice formed the basis of the decision of the Associate-Minister of Health, Katherine O'Regan, to disband the Expert Group.

52. I produce the minutes of and other documents relating to the Expert Group at SC/3/0056-0214