An extra 95 doctors will be accepted for training from 2025 under a Labour policy plan announced this morning.
Labour's promise comes as more than 5000 senior doctors and hospital dentists around the country walked off the job at 10am, for the second time this month, over their deadlocked pay negotiations.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says the latest offer by Te Whatu Ora Healthcare New Zealand amounts to a pay cut for the third year in a row for its members.
Te Whatu Ora says it has contacted patients whose appointments need to be rescheduled and everyone else with an outpatient or surgery appointment should attend as planned.
Emergency departments will remain open during the two-hour strike, which will run until midday.
The union already gave notice of another strike on Thursday 21 September, which will be four hours long.
National has already announced it will set up a new medical school at the University of Waikato, and says it would add another 50 placements in Otago and Auckland from 2025.
The extra number of doctors Labour is announcing today would be on top of the 50 more places already planned for that will start from next year.
In total it will mean an additional 335 doctors being trained every year from 2027, meaning the country will have 874 doctors (a 62 percent increase) going through the country's two medical schools at Auckland University and Otago University.
"We need more doctors given the decades of underfunding of our health system, and this record boost to our doctor training will make a difference for years to come," Labour leader Chris Hipkins said.
Doctors supported by nurses striking at Wellington hospital. Photo: RNZ/Bill Hickman
If re-elected, Labour intends expanding the health workforce to ease the pressure on many roles, health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said.
The policy would:
- Create 700 extra nursing places in 2024
- Expand new 'earn and learn' training opportunities
- Increase international recruitment with 300 additional senior medical officers
- Settle pay equity for hospital midwives, continuing improving pay for the health workforce
- Scale up earn-as-you-learn modular training
- Continue prioritising key health professions through the Green List and review regularly to plug skill gaps
Chris Hipkins and Ayesha Verrall. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
"Our health workers have done more for New Zealanders than people will ever know, holding the system together not just through Covid, but for years preceding due to years of neglect and underinvestment," Dr Verrall said.
"There is still so much to do. We understand things are still hard for many New Zealanders, but we are starting to move the dial and with the worst of the pandemic over, we're free to drive our plan forward at a greater speed."
She said Labour's health achievements included increases in senior nurses salaries, recruiting another 4800 nurses, 1800 more doctors, and 700 more psychologists, boosting Pharmac spending and making doctors' visits cheaper.
"We've launched a massive rebuild programme to improve our hospitals, build new ones, and upgrade our health infrastructure," she said.
Hipkins added: "Labour has invested heavily in our health system. We have a job to finish and ensuring we have the staff we need is top of our list of priorities for our next term."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/497887/labour-announces-plans-to-train-hundreds-more-doctors-by-2027
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