Abstract
The present Minister of Health, Mr Simeon Brown expressed concern that public health officials were spending time on health advocacy when they should be responding to the concerns of the minister and ministry officials. This opinion was supported by the then Acting Prime Minister David Seymour, who hit back at concerns about Mr Brown’s comments, saying he’s "cheering on Simeon [Brown] putting those muppets back in their box." Mr Seymour’s comments show a lack of respect that borders on bullying for the medical profession as well as inferring that the opinion of the "muppets" was not valued.