Ministry of Health chief executive officer, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri, says the Ministry of Health's merger with National Health Services (NHS) is “going smoothly right now.”

Last month, a new era in Samoa’s health services began with the re-unification of the NHS and MOH after a bill was passed in Parliament and Leausa Dr. Take Naseri was appointed as the Acting Director General to see through the merger.

“According to the National Health Service Amendment Bill 2018 which was approved recently in Parliament, the union of NHS and MOH will automatically be known as one body which is MOH because the Act is amended to the MOH.”

Dr. Leausa made it clear that the management may have been shuffled but normal operations continue. 

“We just have to maintain our approach, patient-centered and patient first and then we improve conditions and improve tools used by our employees,” he said in a brief interview.

Speaking with the Minister of Health last month, Tuitama Dr. Leao Tuitama, he said that they have discussed possibilities and probabilities of things that will be encountered in their new journey.

“The only significant change is management, in reference to the general management position which is redundant in the new law,” he said.

Shortly after the merge, the Public Service Commission (PSC) invited applications for the position of deputy director general of the MOH.

According to the PSC special advertisement, two deputy director general positions are up for grabs: deputy director general (public health services) and deputy director general (hospital and clinical services). The starting salary is $96,445 per annum and deadline for applications is March 13, 2019.

Two weeks ago the PSC advertised the position of the director general of the MOH.The salary has been categorised CEO Grade B and will pay up to $121,870 per annum. The amount is inclusive of the 7 per cent employer contribution to National Provident Fund and 1 per cent contribution to Accident Compensation Fund. The appointee will be the Government's principal advisor on all health matters and is the administrator of the health sector in Samoa.