26 May 2025
Roger
[email address]
Ref. HNZ0008180, HNZ00086345
Kia ora Roger
Thank you for your correspondence of 21 April 2025, asking
•
what exactly are you doing to stop more doctors from quitting??
and
•
why are doctors striking?? and why are yous blaming them instead of fixin the problwm
yourself.
I will answer your questions in turn.
At Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) we value our doctors and recognise the highly
skilled and professional work they do.
We are committed to growing our medical workforce in a sustainable way that aligns with budgets
and ensures we match the skills and experience to the need.
Health NZ data shows that from December 2023 to December 2024 our Health NZ employed
Senor Medical Officer (senior doctor) workforce grew by 89 FTE between December 2023 (5,358
FTE) to 5,448 at December 2024.
From December 2023 to December 2024 our Health NZ employed Resident Medical Officer (junior
doctor) workforce grew by 86 FTE between December 2023 (4,642 FTE) to 4,728 at December
2024.
We are investing in growing the medical workforce by supporting domestic training, including:
• Through Budget 2024 $22 million was committed to increasing medical school places by 25
doctors each year.
• We are increasing the annual number of GP training places up to 300 by 2026 and we are
working with the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) to
promote the GP training pathway.
We know there’s pressure on the GP workforce and are working to address this.
In 2022 we increased the salaries for GPEP1 Registrars employed by the RNZCGP and provided
an accommodation allowance for the General Practice Education Programme (GPEP1) trainees
who live within 30km of their rural general practice.
We are paying a hosting fee to GPs who host 12-week Community Based Attachments (CBAs) for
trainee doctors to incentivise more placements in a broader range of general practices.
In addition, the Resident Doctors Support Service (RDSS) is developing a framework to maximise
retention of New Zealand trained Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) in the health system by
supporting their progression into Senior Medical Officer (SMO) roles.
This framework will focus on four key areas:
• Structured Career Pathways: Providing RMOs with accurate up-to-date SMO vacancies
nationally and regionally, along with training requirements, professional development and
personal skills required for to be an SMO.
• Mentorship and Support: Connecting RMOs with SMOs for career guidance and connectors
in each location.
• Early contracting: Recruiting RMOs early for anticipated vacancies, facilitating crossover
periods to allow mentorship of new SMOs and improving local service delivery by reducing
barriers for approval and contracting.
• Building a fair and competitive process: Ensure all RMOs have access to employment
opportunities and foster a culture of clinical excellence and staff wellbeing.
The RDSS has a work programme that is focussed entirely on RMO wellbeing, retention, improving
training pathways and the medical pipeline in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The vision is that the
outcome of improved retention will be achieved through a multi-pronged approach:
• Improving the balance of training, education and employment;
• Better pathways for RMO wellbeing, locally, regionally and nationally;
• Stronger voice for RMOs so that they are part of decision making regularly, locally and
nationally;
• Strong and effective clinical leadership in the RMO support and training space.
•
why are doctors striking?? and why are yous blaming them instead of fixin the problwm
yourself
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists union represents senior doctors and is currently in
bargaining with Health NZ for its collective employment agreement. Unions can decide to take
industrial action, for example to go on strike, as part of the bargaining process.
Unions are required to give Health NZ 14 days’ advance notice of the nature of any planned strike
action, including who is participating, where it will take place, and when.
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
PO Box 793 Wellington 6140
N
ew Zealand
It is a union member’s personal choice to participate in strike action.
Nāku noa, nā
Fiona McCarthy
Interim Chief Human Resources Officer
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
PO Box 793 Wellington 6140
N
ew Zealand
