Senior doctors say NZ medical workforce in crisis

Media release

Senior doctors say NZ medical workforce in crisis

Senior doctors at the first of a series of stopwork meetings have unanimously given the green light for a vote on industrial action.

And in a further step, senior doctors at the meeting also resolved to send a message that the entire New Zealand medical workforce is in crisis.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Ian Powell said the first stopwork meeting involving an estimated 100 senior doctors from Waitemata DHB was held on the North Shore this morning.

“There was standing room only and the resolution to hold a postal ballot of members on whether lawful industrial action should be taken was passed unanimously.

“The meeting also resolved to send a clear message to the public, DHBs and the Government that the entire New Zealand medical workforce is in crisis and urgent remedial action needs to be taken at a Government level.”

This resolution was passed with one dissent.

Ian Powell says two other resolutions were also passed by the meeting, being:

 The rejection of the DHBs’ proposal from July 5.

 The condemnation of the DHBs’ failure to negotiate genuinely and its failure to reach a national collective agreement that addresses New Zealand’s vulnerability and retaining its medical workforce.

“This first meeting has made it very clear that our public health system is facing a very real threat if something is not done to recruit and retain our senior doctors.

“It is also clear that we have underestimated the strength of feeling of senior doctors. We expected that the resolution on industrial action would be contentious but the support for it was unanimous. This was not what we expected.”

“There is a chronic shortage of senior doctors in New Zealand, which is hardly surprising when you hear reports of an Australian hospital offering one of our doctors double his New Zealand salary, as well as a car, housing and extra holidays,” he says.

This morning’s meeting is the first in a series of 26 scheduled around the country, with the last meetings set for August 9. A second meeting of Waitemata DHB senior doctors is being held in Waitakere at 2pm today.

ENDS

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