A leaked voicemail message appears to show Health Minister David Clark attempting to gag top health officials over the woeful state of Middlemore Hospital buildings.

Clark has rejected the accusation, which has stemmed from audio of him telling former Counties Manukau District Health Board chair Rabin Rabindran it was "not helping" that the DHB kept commenting publicly.

Emails suggest he also attempted to shut down the DHB from answering any questions along the lines of who knew what, and when, about the dilapidated state of Middlemore buildings.

STACY SQUIRES/STUFF Health Minister David Clark told DHB officials he hoped "there won't be much more commentary" over the state of Middlemore Hospital.

Clark himself had come under fire for claiming the DHB had never told him of the issues, but the DHB had handed him a document detailing each issue early in the year.

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* Minister of Health confirms he has written to DHB chair about top job

* Counties Manukau Health acting chair Rabin Rabindran believed to have stepped aside

* Middlemore Hospital: What really went down between health minister and Counties Manukau DHB?

Clark told Rabindran "I would consider you for further appointments", and was prepared to signal his imminent departure was less about Rabindran and more about Clark needing a refreshed team.

Clark then went on to say that while he appreciated the challenge and scrutiny the DHB was under, "I notice more and more getting reported that is really not helping, at all".

"And I'm hopeful that there won't be much more commentary. My fear is that if you and I keep commenting, the story keeps ticking along, and it becomes more about personalities than the history, which both you and I have inherited," he said.

"And I'd rather not have distraction about who said what, when. When the bigger issue, of course, is the issue around the historic under-funding of the health sector and the consequences of that," Clark said in the voicemail.

The message was left on Rabindran​'s cellphone in April, two weeks after Clark moved to sack him, but Rabindran had resigned.

SUPPLIED Former Counties Manukau chair Rabin Rabindran was forced out of his role by the minister, following intense public pressure over the state of Middlemore Hospital.

​Rabindran was acting chair at the time and had taken over the role from Lester Levy, who presided over most of the Middlemore building decisions but now sits on Clark's high-powered health advisory panel.

Clark and the DHB were facing immense public pressure over why remedial works had not been carried out sooner. Clark claimed he had not been informed of the full extent of Middlemore damage, but Clark was photographed being handed what the DHB describes as a "detailed" dossier earlier in the year during a visit.

The DHB wanted to release the documents showing it had a plan, but emails leaked to the National Party show the DHB heads were under the impression the minister's office expected them to "suck it up". The sender's details are redacted but it's understood they were sent by a DHB head.

"The facilities briefing notes document spells out succinctly the scale and nature of the facilities issues. I did also tell him when we were showing the Scott Building that we had similar problems in multiple buildings," the email stated.

"He was of course, not here for very long, especially as he arrived late and there was only sufficient time to talk about a limited array of our multiple issues. It is very disappointing that we are now being accused by the media and the Minister of 'covering up' issues."

It was in response to that, the senior DHB official floated releasing a strategic business plan to the media, to show that the DHB did have a plan in place.

But the emails make clear the DHB was under pressure from the minister's office about what it "can and can't say".

"I am waiting for their approval for us to release the Strategic Case and do an interview about that. We have told them we believe we need to do that today but they are saying they need more time to consider at present and want us [especially] me to "suck it up".

SUPPLIED Emails between Counties Manukau DHB officials paint a picture of discord between the DHB and the Health Minister's office over Middlemore commentary.

National MP for Botany Jami-Lee Ross said the voicemail and the emails were "appalling".

"The Minister of Health appears to have been attempting to use his position to dangle jobs in front of Mr Rabindran to silence him in order to avoid embarrassment and his own untruths being exposed.

“This is not good enough. Public servants including DHB leaders should have the right to contradict ministers if those ministers are not telling the truth.

“Instead, Dr Clark appears to have attempted to orchestrate a situation that benefited himself and the Government politically, at the expense of our hard-working health professionals. "

Clark rejected the accusations of gagging, or offering jobs in exchange for silence.

“Anyone who listens to the full recording will hear that I was being nothing other kind and gracious towards Rabin Rabindran and offering him a dignified exit from his role as acting chair of the DHB," he said.

"What the public care about is fixing the problems at the DHB such as mouldy buildings and sewage leaks at Middlemore Hospital.

"I don’t think the public is interested in tit-for-tat squabbles.

"That’s why I’m focused on working with the new leadership at the DHB to ensure patients get the high quality care they deserve," he said.