Waikato medical school plan takes another step forward

Tuesday, 13 February 2024

A Waikato medical school is looking increasingly likely as the university and Government sign on the dotted line to keep working towards it.

Vice-chancellor professor Neil Quigley and the Ministry of Health signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Wellington on Tuesday, amid what’s been called a “dire shortage” of doctors.

The hope is to secure cabinet approval and be ready for the first student intake in 2027, meaning a busy few months are ahead, nutting out a business case.

Quigley told the Waikato Times the agreement shows further commitment from the Government.

“Sometimes when in opposition you are able to back an idea but it can be different once in government.”

The bid had been under a funding cloud as the coalition scours government spending looking for cuts.

But Quigley doesn’t expect the cost of the business case to have increased since the initial proposal, which pegged capital set-up costs for the Waikato med school at about $380m. It would see the Crown contributing up to $280 million and Waikato University raising the remaining $100 million.

Training would be compressed into four years at a future Waikato medical school which will be "a fantastic legacy for New Zealand", National Party leader Christopher Luxon said. (First published July 6 2023.)

“We are hoping to have the work done by the middle of the year. It’s not a done deal yet, we still have have to get cabinet’s approval.“

Quigley said having the prime minister’s support at the signing on Tuesday felt like a positive sign for the medical school.

And while with any project there is complexity and risks, he said in Australia and the UK over the past 15 years they have proven it’s possible which allows for some pretty good templates.

Quigley sees the medical school as an opportunity to ease the current doctor shortage in the long term, and said the MOU was a significant step in reducing our reliance on imported doctors.

“We need to train more doctors,” he said. “We need to select students from a wider range of backgrounds who are committed to long-term careers in primary care outside the main centres and we need to place these students in the regions where they are needed.”

The med school would be graduate entry and focus on training students “in the regions where they are needed”, University of Waikato vice-chancellor Neil Quigley said.

“We are committed to the medical school and to working with partners in other parts of New Zealand, as well as to building a full range of allied health programmes,” Quigley said.

The university plans to have an intake of up to 120 medical students who have already completed an undergraduate degree from 2027, and will be rurally focused.

Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti said the MOU allows for a robust process to make sure the med school model can achieve the results New Zealand needs.

“The MOU will enable the parties to progress with establishing the business case for a third school, as our country faces a dire shortage of Kiwi doctors.

“Signing off on an MOU was a key commitment in the coalition Government’s 100-day plan.”

Reti said a new medical school has been long overdue.

“The last medical school was in 1968 in Grafton Auckland so it has been a long time since we’ve had a new medical school.

“If we went by the same ratio of Australia they have a medical school for every 1 million people.”

He acknowledged Bill English did start the process but “today we have got the flag up the flagpole.”

The long-touted med school focusing on rural medical needs was resurrected during National’s election campaign, with the party saying it was required to boost doctor numbers.

Minister Shane Reti says the country is facing “a dire shortage of Kiwi doctors”.

That, along with adding 50 training places across Auckland and Otago’s schools, would mean an extra 220 doctors graduating each year by 2030.

However, ACT had questioned if money was better spent funding the current schools.

In 2016, Waikato University and the then Waikato District Health Board announced a joint bid to establish the country’s third med school to meet a shortage of GPs.

National committed to plans to create a school of rural medicine ahead of the 2017 and 2020 general elections, but Labour never backed the idea.

The Waikato Chamber of Commerce is pleased with progress on the country’s third medical school.

“As advocates for the growth and prosperity of the Waikato, we recognise the significant benefits that a new medical school will bring to our healthcare system, our communities and the economy,” chief executive Don Good said.

And board chair Senga Allen said that expanding medical education opportunities would not only bolster the healthcare workforce, but also attract talent and foster innovation.

“A third medical school will also contribute to regional development by attracting students and faculty to under-served areas, stimulating local economies and improving healthcare accessibility for rural and remote communities.”