Health Commissioner Bill

Health Commissioner Bill

The bill had its second reading in late June. The version which came back into the House was closer to the original bill, introduced by Helen Clark in 1990. The amendments made under Bill Birch in 1993 had been modif1ed so that the revised bill is closer to its original concept. A new feature is the creation of a Director of Advocacy Services placed within the office of the Health Commissioner (not the Ministry of Health as Birch advocated), who would be responsible for advocacy services. The Commissioner is no longer required to refer cases to disciplinary processes as the Bill Birch version required, but can take cases to an independent complaints tribunal.

There are still areas of concern. These primarily relate to the relationships between advocates, Director of Advocacy Services and Commissioner, and the requirement that the director purchase' advocacy services.