I’m looking forward to seeing how the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, (named by many news media outlets as their darling politician of 2009) deals with the health workforce issues in 2010.
News today that Australia is planning to ease restrictions from April for New Zealand doctors who want to work there and with collective agreement negotiations due with nurses and doctors will be a real test for the Minister. We are entitled to hold him accountable after the rhetoric of his time in opposition and particularly about his government’s commitment to closing the wage gap with Australia.
The Senior Doctors Union (ASMS) says Austalia’s moves are a threat to the whole medical profession in New Zealand and have the potential to “suck us dry”.
Ryall has already used up all of his election promises to address the medical workforce problems. Earlier this year, he introduced a voluntary bonding scheme for Doctors, Midwives and Nurses working in hard to staff areas with the following compensation per year :
- Doctors $10,000 net
- Midwives $3,500 net
- Nurses $2,833 net
Compare this with the difference in rural GP salaries in Australia :
- New Zealand : $150,000 for full time
- Australia : $200,000 – $400,000, particularly in remote rural areas
New Zealand is already short of doctors in many areas, and an easing of restrictions in Australia from April is likely to increase the attraction of its higher salaries. I can’t see the voluntary bonding situation fixing that, can you?
Meanwhile, Senior Doctors have voted to negotiate “competitive terms and conditions of employment, ”including recognition that district health boards are competing in an Australian medical labour market; and that the Government is responsible for resolving the crisis”. This came after a commission set up to look at competitive terms and conditions for NZ’s senior doctors confirmed a 35% wage gap with Australia.
I’m not saying this is an easy problem to solve. What I am saying is that Ryall and his government made a meal out of the health workforce issues while they were in opposition, giving the impression that these were easy to fix. They’ve (so far) largely ignored the industrial action of hospital service workers who’ve been offered zero, but they won’t want large numbers of nurses and doctors creating strife as well. The problem is the government hasn’t budgeted for any wage increases in health in 2010 and now they say the recession is over, there’s going to be some expectations.
Those workers are effectively having a pay cut without the increases.
the situation with rural GPs isn’t the same as the situation for nurses and support staff darien, there isn’t anything stopping nurses and support staff going to australia so this this doesn’t change anything for nurses and support staff.
The solution is to privatise the health system at least according to National…… You watch it might be 2010 it might be 2012 but they’ll “suggest” it……..
Yes, we can see how well that works…
Hat Tip: schrodigerscat
What ever happened to the Hippocratic oath? When did universities start teaching doctor’s to put their pay before their patients? What doctor struggles on a salary of $150,000 per year?
Given that the fees paid by medical students are subsidised to a large extent by the taxpayer, perhaps students should be given a choice between subsidised or non-subsidised fees to attend medical school. Those who choose subsidised fees should be bonded to New Zealand for a period of time when they graduate. Those students who plan to leave New Zealand as soon as they’re qualified simply pay higher fees. When you combine the costs saved by having a smaller (perhaps almost nil) student loan because a student has chosen subsidised fees with the significant salary new doctors already earn, I’m sure graduates will be more than compensated for what they’re missing out on across the ditch.
One thing s for sure – Tony Ryall will deal with this issue far better than any of his predecessors since 1999 would have.
hmm pdm, asserting something is not the same as proving it. Your evidence is … ?
The five year public sector wage freeze announced by English is the most stupid and naieve comment I had heard for a long time. Our health and education systems will be paying the price for the next twenty years.
Hey pdm, tell me, how many hospitals did National close before 1999? And how many hopsitals did Labour close after 1999? And thats why Labour spent heaps of money. Because New Zealanders need health services and hospitals.
++++
Anyway, listen for that giant sucking sound come April, to paraphrase a US presidential candidate.
Dorothy – he has already turned around 9 years of largesse in the administration areas of the Health system as just one example of his ability.
H Fee, I don’t think they take the hippocratic oath and even if they do it mentions patients not being harmed- Not higher transtasman pay!! But surely all students in all subjects are partially subsidised so does your logic (or lack of) cover them as well. $150k ain’t that much… GPs earn double what I earn and work at LEAST twice as hard/long. Throw in 7 years study, big loan, bad hours and I think they are underpaid. Which is why they leave… the global health system has 1 million vacancies and given the 9 years of (mostly- see below) spending waste from Clarke & co turning NZ into a 2nd world economy we have the situation where our doctors/ nurses/radiographers go to 1st world and we employ 3rd world doctors (who are mostly very good). Some of the Clarke spending wasn’t wasteful.. like the health wonks who had a big hand in having things organised for Ryall. But the rest working for families, interest free student bribes, needless ministries and hip hop ..was waste.
Predrovsky,
1) How many hospitals did Labour close after 1999 and how many hopsitals did National close before 1999?
2) Why do you think working mothers should lose their support payments and then be thrown back into more or less having to choose between paying the rent and buying food for for thier kids (bearing in mind that wages are absurdly low in this country – if employers pulled their finger out and paid their workers a decent wage…)
3) Do you support an American style health system?
3) Do you support an American style health system
I don’t think anybody does, Americans aren’t even allowed to buy health insurance from out of state companies – their system is regulated up to their eyeballs.
pdm – you say that the Minister of Health has already turned around 9 years of largesse in the administration areas of the health system. Can you tell me where you get evidence for this? Apart from setting up another bureaucracy (the National Health Board)and cutting a few Ministry of Health Committees, I cannot see any evidence for this assertion.
Compare this with the difference in rural GP salaries in Australia :
New Zealand : $150,000 for full time
Australia : $200,000 – $400,000, particularly in remote rural areas
One thing you’re forgetting is that ‘Rural’ New Zealand is never that far from a major or main centre. Whereas ‘Rural’ in Australia could be +1,000km away from anything!
Quality of life in those rural centres would be comparatively very poor, and cost of living probably much higer, so that explains a good portion of the pay rate difference.
pdm obviously doesn’t work in the health sector. I can assure him that Tony Ryall’s much-vaunted attempt to reduce time-wasting administration (for which read middle management, without whom we would all be much better off) has been well and truly headed off at the pass by the said middle management who have hijacked a good idea and used it to reduce the availablility of frontline reception, typing and filing staff so that actual health workers are now doing these tasks instead of seeing patients. Brilliant!!
Millsy ,
I think the hospital closures by both parties came to about 70. Scarey , short sighted stuff.. At the time of the Edgeware Rd nightmare ,ChCh emergency services could barely cope..How would they cope with a much bigger disaster?
Millsy,
I have no idea who closed how many hospitals… I do know sometimes simplistic openings and closings are irrelevant. I live in the provinces and was FLOWN by the state to Waikato with a piece of sawdust in my eye… cheaper than finding a replacement eye specialist.. who doesn’t get enough work. I have no thoughts on your suggestion I throw working mothers around. I haven’t experienced US style health..but UK is excellent. My points were about us all getting on our moral high horses and dictating to any professional where they work. I have had Egyptian, Iranian, and Sri Lankan Docs in NZ and they were all great..