More senior doctor roles coming

Monday, 25 November 2024

More senior doctors positions are expected to be coming on Tuesday, but the office of Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti wouldn’t confirm or deny the news. (File photo)

The Health Minister is set to announce a boost to the senior medical workforce on Tuesday, The Post understands, but it comes as more job cuts are signalled at Health New Zealand.

A well-placed source said an extra 50 senior medical officer (SMO) positions were expected to be announced in a joint move with Commissioner Lester Levy.

It’s understood some investment in small scale critical infrastructure will be announced too.

Neither the minister’s office nor Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora would confirm or deny the announcement.

But the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), which represents senior doctors, said such a boost would not go far enough.

“I expect that whatever tomorrow’s announcement includes will be a drop in the bucket and ignore existing problems that need solving [such as] widespread workforce shortages, cuts to core services including national public health, and backsliding on the Dunedin hospital build,” ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton said.

Health NZ has signalled more jobs are on the line, with both the National Public Health Service (NPHS) and data and digital teams affected.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists’ executive director Sarah Dalton is trying to understand Health NZ’s rationale for cuts to the National Public Health Service.

The agency is looking to slash $30 million from the NPHS budget, according to the ASMS. It understands nearly 300 vacant roles will be axed and a further 56 roles are at risk.

In an email to Dalton on November 12 responding to the claims, then acting chief executive Dale Bramley said: “The savings targets [of $30m] are real, however the changes you refer to are still under consideration and no decisions have been made.”

Health NZ confirmed it began to inform affected staff on Monday, with a formal meeting scheduled for the wider workforce on Wednesday.

The data and digital group is expected to be part of the change, as well as the NPHS.

A spokesperson from Health NZ said 'formal change processes will start this week across some parts of the organisation'.

'While this process is ongoing, we can’t speculate on how many roles may be impacted.

'No decisions will be made this side of Christmas.'

On November 13, Dalton asked Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa to explain the proposed public health service cuts.

Professor Lester Levy says he and the chief executive of Health NZ have made a commitment to protect the front line, but there may be some 'marginal changes' to front line work.

“My point remains, that the NPHS is a frontline health service. Given this, what of the Commissioner’s undertaking to make no cuts to the frontline?“ Dalton wrote.

In an interview with The Post in October, Levy staked his job as commissioner on maintaining the frontline budget.

Apa replied on Monday afternoon with information on the known financial position of the agency and the “major underlying problem of significant beyond budget expenditure”, which was first revealed in April and had continued.

“This has created a complex set of financial challenges and if this serious recurrent monthly deficit is not reversed it will result in a very large and unacceptable forecast financial deficit for Health NZ in the vicinity of $1.75 billion for the 2024/25 financial year.”

She cited the need to return Health NZ to living within its means, which “requires a comprehensive programme of cost reduction equivalent to the beyond budget expenditure”.

Emails Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa sent on Monday, say that cost reduction programmes are all part of efforts to return Health NZ back to budget.

“As a crown [sic] entity you will know that we are expected to live within our means and the money appropriated to us in the Government budget.”

“The cost reduction programmes that are under way in every part of the organisation, including in the Public Health Service, is aimed at bringing us back to living within our budget.”

Dalton replied: “Thanks for the response, Margie – but no one has answered the key question, which is: given undertakings by the commissioner that no frontline services would be cut, how do you justify stripping $30m from our NPHS? And now we have a whooping cough outbreak!”

Asked to comment on this exchange, Apa told The Post: “This consultation is a proposal seeking feedback.

“Health New Zealand has made some good progress towards living within our means, but we are still spending more than we have in our budget in all areas. We are also resetting to devolve more functions to regions to strengthen frontline clinical delivery to patients and communities.”

The National Public Health Service has the mandate to prevent the spread of diseases, but staff were told about potential job losses the same day Health NZ announced a whooping cough epidemic.