Who We Are
AHAA is a multidisciplinary group of concerned professionals and community members who advocate for equality of access to adequate and quality healthcare services in the public sector throughout
Aotearoa / New Zealand
Dr Brian Cox is a specialist in public health medicine with specific training in cancer screening and epidemiology. He primarily focuses on studies identifying the causes of cancer and the effects of treatment and prevention services. He was also the New Zealand representative to the International Cancer Screening Network, for over 20 years. and was involved in the design and establishment of the National Cervical Screening Programme in New Zealand. He was also the inaugural chair of both independent monitoring groups of the national cervical and breast screening programmes.
Swiss born, Gil came to New Zealand in 1978 with international experience in Gastroenterology. He became Professor of Medicine at the University of Otago, with his clinical practice in Dunedin Public Hospital (1978-3003) and part-time at Mercy Hospital C(995-2012). He was also actively involved in teaching, clinical and basic medical research, and medical administrative issues. He has two postgraduate doctorates, two clinical fellowships, and was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of NZ for his contribution to research. He is a past President of the NZ Society of Gastroenterology, and ex-member of the Executive of the World Gastroenterology Organisation. He has worked extensively in the voluntary sector in developing countries. Now retired from his academic and clinical posts, he has retained an interest in medical education, research, and community affairs. He has travelled widely, and now enjoys the outdoors, nature and wildlife, and learning more about the complexities of human behaviour. He has been happily to Wyn for 56 years, and they have two children and one grandson.
Until his retirement in 2010, Phil Bagshaw was Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Otago Christchurch, where he practised as a specialist General Surgeon, taught undergraduate and postgraduate surgery, and did surgical research.
During his clinical career, he was President of the New Zealand Society of Gastroenterology, Chair of the New Zealand National Board of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Chair of the Council of Medical Colleges in New Zealand, and an elected member of the Canterbury District Health Board. He helped set up the National Liver Unit in Auckland and for fourteen years chaired the New Zealand Liver Transplant Advisory Group. In 2003, Phil had the idea of starting a charity hospital for patients who could not access the care they needed in the public hospital system and could not afford private care. With three other trustees he formed the Canterbury Charity Hospital Trust in 2004 and since has Chaired its board of trustees. He has worked there as a volunteer General Surgeon. In 2008 he was the North & South New Zealander of the Year and in 2019 he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Dr Brian Easton is an economist, social statistician, public policy analyst and economic historian. He has worked in health economics for almost six decades. As well as teaching, he has often provided economic advice to clinicians and has written widely on the health system. Among his academic appointments he has been an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Public Health, Wellington School of Medicine, University of Otago, for almost three decades.
Dave McKay is a Dunedin General Practitioner and palliative care doctor. He has worked in both urban and rural practice as a GP. He has been working in palliative medicine with the Otago Community Hospice since 2004. Dave has been a passionate and outspoken advocate for improved access to care to specialist services.
Murray Pfeifer is a retired general surgeon, and senior clinical lecturer at the University Of Otago Department Of Surgical Sciences (Dunedin). As a surgeon Murray served the people of Southland for over forty years. He pioneered breast cancer care in Southland. His work with the Southland Mammography Trust resulted in the purchase of the first mammogram machine for detection of breast cancer in Southland women, and led to his specialisation in breast surgery. He regards advocacy as a critical part of his professional responsibilities. He is Chairman of the Southland Charity Hospital Board.
Melissa Vining is a cancer care advocate from Southland. She first became aware of inequitable access to specialist care when her husband Blair was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Together they advocated for an end to the ‘postcode lottery’ that is access to healthcare in New Zealand. She has been inundated with stories from ordinary New Zealanders experiencing refused or delayed access to care, often with devastating consequences. She and Blair organised a petition which some 140,000 New Zealanders signed, and which resulted in the formation of the Cancer Control Agency in 2019. She is fulfilling the late Blair’s wishes for a Charity Hospital to be established in Southland.
Alice Macklow is an advocate for the wellbeing of our community and environment. She works in the conservation field as the Communications Lead and Source to Sea Project Manager for the Halo Project here in Ōtepoti/Dunedin and previously as the Volunteer Coordinator and Comms Lead for Orokonui Ecosanctuary. For ten years prior to working in conservation she was a support worker for people with intellectual disabilities, neurodivergence and mental illness. She has seen the impact of poor health care on the most vulnerable in our society. She brings her experience to AHAA in the hopes that she can facilitate positive change. She believes in equitable access to healthcare for all Kiwis and is committed to doing what it takes to improve healthcare outcomes across the board.