Category: New Zealand Associations and Organisaitons

Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Building the workforce pipeline, stopping the drain

A report out today from the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists warns urgent, co-ordinated action is needed to tackle staffing shortages and future proof the specialist workforce, or New Zealanders will increasingly miss out on the specialist care they need.
The report – Building the Workforce Pipeline, Stopping the Drain – is being launched at the ASMS Annual Conference in Wellington.
ASMS research shows an average 24% shortage of specialists in our public hospitals. It results in high levels of burnout and stress, along with a lack of non-clinical time and time to teach junior doctors.
“Ask our members what is the one thing that would most improve their working lives and improve patient care and they consistently say more staff,” says ASMS Executive Director Sarah Dalton.
“We know that stretched specialist services mean thousands of New Zealanders are missing out on treatment. Mental health, oncology, and neurology are three areas of significant under-supply, but we could name so many more”.
The shortages are compounded by an ageing workforce (the largest number of specialists fall in the 55-59-year age bracket). New Zealand also relies heavily on overseas-trained doctors.  They make up 43% of the specialist workforce (the second highest in the OECD) but often do not stay long-term.
Sarah Dalton says, “all up it can take 12-18 years to train a specialist, so we need solutions to start flowing into the pipeline and we need them now”.
“Unfortunately, workforce development and planning has historically been fragmented and there is very little data.  We need properly funded, centralised co-ordination and oversight”.
Among the report’s recommendations are for universities to increase the annual intake of medical students, and for the Ministry of Health and the Government to develop a Health and Disability Workforce Plan to provide targets for medical training and progression, and address equity and diversity in the medical workforce.
There is also a recommendation for DHBs and medical colleges to offer more flexible working arrangements for both medical trainees and specialists looking to retire.
Sarah Dalton says without action specialist numbers and supply will continue to be outpaced by population growth and the health needs of Aotearoa.
She adds that the Covid pandemic has added further uncertainty.
“We don’t know how easy or hard it will be to bring senior doctors to New Zealand, and we are already seeing disruption to the Australasian training pipeline, not to mention further afield. What this will mean to the current medical workforce in training, we can only speculate”.
The report will be discussed by a panel at the Annual Conference – see programme here.  The Conference is also being livestreamed – you can watch Day 1 and Day 2
The post Building the workforce pipeline, stopping the drain appeared first on ASMS.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Full house for Annual Conference

We have had an overwhelming response from members wanting to come to this year’s Annual Conference at Te Papa, 26-27 November. Thanks to all those who have registered. Unfortunately, we have now reached capacity and are putting registrations on hold. However, we are offering a webinar option for those who want to attend.  To register for the webinar please email Cassey van Riel on cvr@asms.org.nz.  We look forward to seeing everyone, whether in person, or virtually, in Wellington next month.
The post Full house for Annual Conference appeared first on ASMS.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Health Matters – Framing the full story of Health

Reducing demand for health care in New Zealand means targeting the growing inequities in Aotearoa. We know our members are regularly treating preventable illness and disease which have their roots in social factors such as poverty, racism, poor housing, unhealthy foods, and environments. That is why we’ve put together a new report Health Matters – Framing the full story of health.  We hope it will provoke some better national conversations about health, and some long term cross-party political commitment around health policy.
The post Health Matters – Framing the full story of Health appeared first on ASMS.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Making a health bucket wish list for Northland

Some of the things that make Northland one of the best and most beautiful parts of the country also make it one of the hardest to support in terms of health. Many of you live hours away from hospitals, while roads and other transport access are not easily navigated.
The Simpson Review of our health and disability system, which was released in June, tried to look at what things might look like in the next couple of decades. Its findings are very broad.  Its recommendations now sit with the Government and like so many of these things, the devil will be in the detail.
One of the key points it made is that our current health system is not very joined up. I don’t imagine there are many people who would disagree with that.
But the real question for most of us will be, what will my access to the health system look like?  How might it change? Will my whānau be better off when it comes to healthcare over the next few years?
We think there are several things that could be picked up really quickly which would make a positive and visible difference in your region. We would probably go a wee bit further than the Simpson Review. Here is our list:

Visible, accurate, information about health delays, waiting times, and the current state of access to specialist care in your region. Specialist shortages in some of your hospital services are at critical levels. As an example, the last time I asked, Sleep Clinic wait times in Northland were upwards of three years.
free access to GPs and primary care, including dentists, physiotherapists, and health navigators with links to DHB, MSD, housing, and education. These would be established as local hubs, with strong iwi and community links and, ideally, with an on-site pharmacy and local drop-in and support centre.
DHB-employed GPs. This means you won’t be reliant on a profit-making business model to ensure there is a GP practice somewhere in your neighbourhood.
Health buses equipped and staffed so that, sometimes, hospital-based, specialist services will come to you. They would also work alongside local primary care providers to improve community-based care for patients and families.

That’s not the whole list, but I reckon it’s a solid start. Alongside all these, we need a better conversation about what our public investment in the health system really means. Having timely access to health care, whether that be GP, dental, or specialist care, costs us all. That’s why we pay our taxes. But it seems to me that it has been a while since we had an in-depth conversation about what we expect back from our investment.
Is it ok that there is no GP in your neighbourhood? Are you comfortable that some sub-specialist care is available in Auckland, and not further north?  We are a nation of just over five million people. It might be reasonable to expect that transplant surgeries only happen in major centres with tertiary hospitals, but is it acceptable to have a three year wait for a Sleep Clinic assessment in Whangarei?
What else do we expect our health taxes to provide? We know the government’s shopping list is even longer than ours, and there is only ever a certain amount of money in the health bucket. But if we are clear about what we expect, what constitutes our bottom line for public health care, maybe it’s time for a bigger bucket.
– ASMS Executive Director Sarah Dalton
As published in the Northern Advocate 19 September 2020
 
 
The post Making a health bucket wish list for Northland appeared first on ASMS.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: National’s health targets no magic bullet

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says politically set health targets are no magic bullet for addressing the growing number of New Zealanders who are missing out on hospital treatment.
As part of its just-released health policy, the National Party says it would reintroduce public reporting of updated national health targets to monitor DHB performance, including cancer treatment times, elective surgeries and emergency department wait times.
“These targets miss the point and serve a political purpose rather than working to meet the healthcare needs of New Zealanders,” says ASMS Executive Director Sarah Dalton.
“DHBs and health staff have been battling to keep up with increased demand for acute care in a system which was starved of funding under the previous National-led Government”.
An ASMS report last year Hospitals on the Edge, estimates there are up to 430,000 people who are missing out on treatment and being rejected for specialist treatment because hospitals do not have capacity and many services are being rationed.
“Target-setting does not address this growing unmet need or take account of the growing workload of the specialist workforce which is already suffering from burnout and staffing shortfalls estimated at up to 24%.  We would like to see something in National’s health policy on how to address workforce shortages,” she says.
Sarah Dalton says all political parties need to acknowledge that that there needs to be political consensus when it comes to what New Zealanders need from their health system.
“Health needs to be viewed as a long game. We need to see priority-setting and a commitment to investment which goes further than political cycles or the makeup of the elected Government of the day,” she adds.
The post National’s health targets no magic bullet appeared first on ASMS.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Senior doctors back striking nurses

Senior hospital doctors and dentists are voicing their support for the thousands of general practice nurses who are striking today, saying all healthcare workers deserve investment.
The nurses are fighting for equal pay with their district health board colleagues.
“These nurses are at the coalface of our communities and the Covid pandemic has served to highlight the essential service they provide,” says the Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Sarah Dalton.
“It’s patently unfair that such pay disparity exists between groups of workers with the same qualifications and experience”.
There is similar disparity among senior doctors with those employed in GP practices and non-DHB organisations generally earning significantly less than their DHB counterparts.
“We rely on community-based services for people to access basic healthcare,” Sarah Dalton says.
“Our colleagues in communities are critical to improving people’s health outcomes and they deserve the same salaries and conditions as their hospital colleagues”.
The post Senior doctors back striking nurses appeared first on ASMS.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Southlanders – what price your health?

Southlanders can feel lucky in the extent to which your district health board provides a contrast to the sorry events at Canterbury DHB, where a hostile board and Crown monitor have effectively led to the departure of the chief executive David Meates and three members of his senior leadership.

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: The Health and Disability System Review report at first glance

It’s been a long wait but the final report by the independent Health and Disability System Review has been released by the Government. The Review, commissioned by the Health Minister in May 2018, represents a major overhaul of the health and disability sector and promises large-scale reform not seen in a generation. ASMS is still digesting the 264-page report and is preparing a more detailed analysis. In the meantime, we have put together some initial thoughts to share with members. 

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