Delegates Vote to Recommend Provisional Settlement

ATTENTION: HEALTH REPORTER

MEDIA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,
FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2011

“Delegates Vote to Recommend Provisional Settlement to Senior Doctors in Ballot And Loss of Trust in DHB Leaders”

“Delegates at the senior doctors union conference today have voted to recommend a collective agreement settlement, negotiated with the 20 district health boards, to their members in a postal ballot,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today. The ballot is expected to be completed before Christmas.

“Senior doctor delegates came to this decision after two days of robust debate. While the proposed settlement might help a little with the recruitment of more New Zealand trained doctors looking for their first specialist position in our public hospitals, it will not solve our hospital specialist workforce crisis.”

“Over the two days of debate delegates expressed considerable anger over the conduct of their health bosses in these negotiations which included betrayal, character assassination, deceit and misrepresentation. Previously district health boards had agreed with us on a blueprint document that if implemented would have addressed the specialist workforce crisis and over time made significant savings in health spending. Unfortunately they reneged. Our health bosses have wasted a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate quality leadership and financial responsibility.”

“Some of this extended into the hard time the Minister of Health got yesterday afternoon when he spoke at the Conference. He had been misled into believing highly dubious claims of hospital doctor numbers that contradicts what hospital specialists at the frontline know. The effect was that Mr Ryall contradicted his own mantra by believing the ‘back office’ rather than the ‘frontline’ he frequently says he supports.”

This led the delegates (with only one dissent) to adopt the following resolution:

This Annual Conference has lost trust in the DHB leadership and is disappointed that they and the Government have withdrawn from their responsibility to address the specialist workforce crisis. This crisis must be resolved in order to maintain a high quality health system for all New Zealanders.

“One of the effects of the failure of health bosses and government to take responsibility for this crisis is to highlight another serious crisis, the quality of leadership in the health system,” concluded Mr Powell.

Ian Powell

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ENDS

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