"What may surprise you is Canterbury needs a strong Southern District Health Board that’s able to meet most of the needs of its community. "We don’t want to be bringing more care into Canterbury," the Canterbury and West Coast chief executive told the Otago Daily Times. He is happiest talking up the shift in Canterbury health that involves keeping patients out of hospitals, rather than drawing more in. "The reason why the health system here didn’t implode with the earthquakes is that we could shift and change it." Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell is happy to praise Mr Meates when asked for comment.

Source: Otago Daily Times October 21, 2016 17:14 UTC