New faces on guild board after controversial election

TWO FRESH FACES have been elected to the board of the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand, according to voting results made public on 14 June.

Both are members of the Prescription Access Initiative (PAI) advocacy group which had candidates running for all five positions available on the nine-member board.

Auckland pharmacy owner and PAI member Vicky Chan claimed one of two available board places in the northern electorate and Rotorua pharmacy owner and fellow PAI member Charlotte Schimanski won the only available place in the midland electorate.

The three unsuccessful candidates from PAI were Mangawhai pharmacy owner Lanny Wong (northern electorate), Wellington pharmacist Jane Peng (central electorate), and Christchurch pharmacy owner Alex de Roo (southern electorate).

Three incumbent board members – Whangārei pharmacy owner Shane Heswall, Waikanae pharmacy owner James Westbury, and current guild president and Christchurch pharmacy owner Des Bailey – sought re-election and kept their places.

The new and re-elected candidates join sitting members Keshree Naifoo-Rauf (midland electorate), Brooke McKay (central electorate), Paul Larson (southern electorate) and Victor Chong (co-opted).

Newly elected board member Ms Chan told Pharmacy Today that getting a place on the guild’s board means the opportunity to represent and collaborate to advocate. “[I’m] hoping to continue to encourage membership as well as fostering strong partnership with members and other strategic stakeholders.”

Ms Chan says she is planning to carry out due diligence on questions she wants to ask when she starts on the board.

Ms Schimanski, who has previous governance experience and is a chartered director through the Institute of Directors NZ, said she’d like to see better unity between pharmacy groups so they can bargain collectively as a sector.

The guild was criticised for the election process after it was revealed incumbent candidates possibly used guild member email lists for their re-election campaigns. After receiving complaints, the guild’s chief executive Andrew Gaudin sent the email lists to candidates in the regions where the incumbent candidates had already sent electioneering emails.

The guild then formed a sub-board to review the concerns about electioneering. As a result, the guild let members change their votes before the voting closed and appointed two independent scrutineers from Franks Ogilvie to oversee the election. The guild is also reviewing its election rules and privacy policy in the new board term.

The guild also sought legal advice through law firm Simpson Grierson, which determined that the concerns didn’t create lasting prejudice to a fair outcome of the election.

Alex de Roo told Pharmacy Today he was pleased that fellow PAI members Ms Chan and Ms Schimanski had made it onto the board. Although he’s disappointed with the electoral process, he’s pleased that the guild will review its methods.

Mr de Roo says the guild isn’t doing enough to engage with its members.

“There are people who either aren’t joining or who are leaving because they are concerned about the value they offer. People are pretty disillusioned with them, with the lack of information, the lack of feeling that things are getting done.”

He says he has never received any communication from his electorate representative about guild decisions or new services, and that guild members from other electorates report the same problem.

Mr de Roo says he will be raising his concerns at the guild’s annual general meeting on 20 June.

Guild vice-president Ms Naidoo-Rauf told Pharmacy Today, in a written statement, that the guild endeavours to keep its members up to date with developments and will continue to do so.

“We do this via our regular electronic and hard-copy communications and member events. Members are also welcome to contact their local board member or guild headquarters at any time to express any concerns they may have,” Ms Naidoo-Rauf says.

She says the guild was pleased with the voter turnout and that member wishes were reflected in the outcome of the election.

“During the election process a number of technical matters were raised, and some members would like more detail on the process. I have committed to tabling this with the new board for it to be considered.”