Media Release
Friday 7 June 2013

Why are DHBs using PR firms?

The secrecy and evasion - and waste of money - by West Coast DHB management has taken a new twist with the involvement of a PR consultancy firm in an enquiry on behalf of patient by Democrats for Social Credit health spokesman David Tranter.

“Until I was contacted by a member of “Convergence Communications & Marketing Ltd” the communication was between myself and the DHB who had promised me an answer by 31 May” Mr. Tranter said.

“After Convergence Communications & Marketing Ltd tried unsuccessfully to contact me by phone they subsequently emailed me to say that the DHB couldn’t deliver on their promised deadline for the answer to my question but that they would do so “early next week”.

“Why couldn’t someone within the DHB send this message? While I am awaiting the response to an OIA request as to how much time and money is involved in Convergence’s services a local source believes that they spend one or two days a week in Greymouth. Given the typical costs of consultancy - plus travel - one can, meanwhile, only guess at how much taxpayer funds are being squandered on PR.

“According to their website, Convergence Communications & Marketing Ltd are “an independent award-winning PR consultancy” and that they “have the communication techniques and strategies to help you avoid, minimise and professionally manage the impact of issues and crises”. I can only wonder what issue or crisis is supposed to be involved here” Mr. Tranter said. 

“Convergence’s further claims include, “we specialise in media training and have seven former journalists who know how to get the publicity you want or keep you OUT (their emphasis) of the media spotlight”.

“Given the expansion of administration staff within DHBs since their management was corporatised in the 1990s the only logical explanation for using more outside agencies is that DHBs feel the need to manipulate what reaches the public - in Convergence’s words, “ to get the publicity you want or keep you OUT of the media spotlight”.

“Surely the best publicity for DHBs is the treatment outcomes experienced by the public, in good old-fashioned parlance, “the best publicity is word of mouth”, not that dreamed up by high-priced spin doctor businesses.

“The other questions arising are: how widely are other DHBs using external spin doctors to improve their image or to do what should be normal routine for their staff; and how much is this costing?

“When the Canterbury DHB took control of the West Coast DHB, they promised there would be a reduction in bureaucracy but if this new regime requires an outside company to deliver the simplest of messages it would seem that that health bureaucracy is wandering off in hitherto unimagined directions” Mr. Tranter concluded.

ENDS

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