Opinion: You may be aware of an Official Information Act release from Pharmac, our drug-buying agency. It gives some insight into Pharmac as it readied itself to fund Trikafta to treat cystic fibrosis. This was in December.
Today FM broke that story, and the Pharmac CEO Sarah Fitt then blacklisted MediaWorks. She wrote to MediaWorks’ CEO Cam Wallace and said Pharmac would not speak to Today FM or any MediaWorks station until she could – quote – “trust us” again.
The OIA was focused on the ban but as is so often the case, it revealed far bigger issues at Pharmac, including a culture that continues to show zero compassion for patients.
Since the OIA was released last week, my colleagues Tova, Lloyd and myself have submitted no less than ten requests for interviews with Sarah Fitt, Pharmac’s Chair Steve Maharey, and Health Minister Ayesha Verrall. Ten requests. All have been declined.
So… given these three very senior public servants won’t speak to Today FM, I am going to ask the questions publicly.
Here are my questions for Sarah Fitt, the CEO.
1: Pharmac’s communications strategy provides a ‘background’ for the Trikafta announcement. It references one issue – an opportunity to address “very negatively slanted” media coverage in the past towards Pharmac. It does not reference patient need, Trikafta’s efficacy, or the positive economic impact for our health system. Were you singularly focused on using the Trikafta announcement to counter the negative sentiment towards Pharmac?
2: The OIA details what you consider to be the ‘best case’ – and that is that patients with a terminal condition would watch the news at 6 o’clock and find out that they might now live. Why did you put good publicity before humanity?
3: The OIA reveals that Trikafta’s developer in Australia – Vertex – urged you to inform the patient body (Cystic Fibrosis New Zealand) sooner. You personally rejected that advice. Why?
4: The Pharmac Review, commissioned by Jacinda Ardern in 2020, was highly critical of Pharmac’s failure to engage with patients. It urged you to have more empathy. Did you listen?
5: Just before the Trikafta announcement, Fiona Ellis from the Otago Daily Times was writing a story about a man who was very ill with Cystic Fibrosis. He was about to board a plane to the UK so he could access Trikafta. His twin sister, in order to save herself, had already moved to Australia to get the drug. The OIA revealed that Pharmac told Ellis, she could not include the Trikafta announcement in her story. Why did you insist on sitting on the story for two days to hold it for the 6 o’clock news? Whose interests did that serve?
6: Ellis published her story a day before the announcement and said Pharmac was “poised to announce a provisional agreement” to fund Trikafta. That was true. The OIA includes an email where one of Pharmac’s communications advisors says she would - quote - “have to go after them”. What does “go after them” mean, when it’s applied to a journalist?
7: Why did you, the CEO of Pharmac, send an email to a patient on Sunday, December 11th, and attach an editorial written by Tracy Watkins at Stuff? The editorial was critical of Pharmac’s performance. You asked the patient if they had seen the article. Why?
8: Does Pharmac have ethical guidelines that provide a framework for direct CEO-patient engagement?
9: Is it appropriate for the CEO of Pharmac to have direct contact – not least on a Sunday morning - with a patient who needs a publicly funded drug?
10: After we broke the story of Trikafta, you emailed my boss, Cam Wallace, the CEO of MediaWorks and stated that Pharmac would not speak to any Today FM journalist or MediaWorks station indefinitely. On what basis did you believe you had the power and authority to impose such a ban on a media organisation?
11: What is Pharmac’s view of the role of media in a democracy?
12: The OIA reveals you waited two days before you instructed staff to alert the Health Minister to that ban you had imposed on Today FM. Is that in line with the Government’s ‘no surprises’ policy?
13: The OIA states that the Health Minister was told about the ban. It says the Prime Minister’s Office would be told too. And yet Andrew Little told Tova on Friday, you did not tell him about the ban. So who’s telling the truth?
14: Finally, on what basis did you redact large sections of an email you sent to the Country Manager of an Australian pharmaceutical company with ‘Rachel Smalley’ in the subject line? You gave no reason for the redaction. Why not?
Sarah Fitt, your advisors state that you don’t have anything further to add since you spoke with Today FM in December.
On the contrary, I think there are many more questions you need to answer.
And Health Minister, Ayesha Verrall, you state this is a matter for Pharmac. Given what I’ve just revealed here, do you still believe that to be the case?
