Govt Should Be Increasing Funding, Not Forcing Another Rushed Restructure On Te Whatu Ora

• 44 jobs proposed to go across teams in Hospital and Specialty Services, including Manager Disabled Peoples Health, and Commissioning
• Te Whatu Ora CE concedes it could complicate changes already underway

The Government should be funding the health system properly rather than axing more jobs in a rushed and reckless attempt to save money.

"Make no mistake, today’s restructuring will only complicate the ability of Te Whatu Ora to deliver a more effective health system," said Kerry Davies, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

Te Whatu Ora is proposing to cut 44 roles across teams that in many cases have only recently been established through other change proposals to support the overall process that aims to unify and simplify the health system.

Vital expertise in Māori health will also be lost with the proposal to axe the Director Māori Health and the Chief Advisor Māori Health roles.

"This latest change has blindsided health workers at Te Whatu Ora who are already coping with a series of restructures this year alone. Why impose more change on top of other significant change?" said Davies.

"The Te Whatu Ora chief executive concedes this is a challenge, telling impacted staff today, ‘I am mindful of where many teams are at in their change journeys, and this could be seen to further complicate change not yet fully implemented.’"

One PSA member who faces being disestablished for the second time in a year, says this proposal came out of nowhere.

"We are just baffled by the logic of this. The work we do will still have to be done, but the burden will now fall on other teams, which have already been stripped back so this change means they will just be less effective in helping design and implement a better health system for New Zealanders.

"It just feels like the work I do is not important enough to Ministers - yet it still has to be done or the whole system won’t work well. It makes no sense."

"If this latest change has been triggered by a so called ‘financial crisis’ then it’s all the Government’s own making," said Kerry Davies. "It made a choice to give away billions of dollars in tax cuts, rather than properly funding the health system New Zealanders need.

"Now it’s desperately searching for savings everywhere and looking for scapegoats. Further restructuring is not going to help.

"The Prime Minister talks about ‘management mush’ being removed - this disrespects the important work people are doing to make the new health system work better. It’s insulting to so many health workers.

"The PSA urges the Government to think again and pause this restructure. If it really wants to deliver better health services to New Zealanders, then give the health system the funds it needs to do the job."

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