Latest news with #MalcolmMulholland
RNZ News
19-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Budget could be 'matter of life or death' for some patients, advocate says
Patient Voice Aotearoa chair Malcolm Mulholland. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham For some cancer patients, the Budget could literally be a matter of life-or-death. Patient Voice Aotearoa chair Malcolm Mulholland will lead a delegation of blood cancer patients to Parliament on Thursday to see if the Budget will deliver on the government's promise they "won't be forgotten". The backlash after last year's Budget failed to include funding for National's pre-election promise of extra cancer treatments forced the gvernment a couple of months later to produce another $604m for Pharmac over four years. That welcome investment allowed Pharmac to fund a range of drugs for patients with solid tumours - but increased inequities for blood cancer patients, Mulholland said. "Blood cancer patients haven't had anything. If we look at just multiple myeloma for example, 450 people are diagnosed every year, but there's been no new drug funded since 2014. That to me is criminal." While the previous Health Minister Dr Shane Reti had given his assurances that blood cancer patients "would not be forgotten", his replacement, Simeon Brown, has made no commitments. Brown's only pre-Budget announcement has been an extra $164m for after-hours GPs and urgent care in targeted regions. While welcoming the support, GP leaders noted primary care in general needed a massive cash injection. A Health NZ briefing to Dr Reti in January 2024, projected a $173m shortfall in funding to GPs for the year, and estimated primary care needed a boost of between $353m and $1.4b to address "unmet need". General Practice NZ chair Bryan Betty said the capitation funding model - the way the government funds general practices based on the number and age of enrolled patients - was 20 years old and "no longer fit for purpose". "General practice is faced with a lot more complexity in terms of patients, patients who are not being seen in the hospital and they're expecting general practice to pick up and deal with, and also the volume of what we're actually seeing." General Practice NZ chair Bryan Betty. Photo: Supplied Dr Betty, a family doctor in Porirua, said the last capitation uplift was not enough to cover inflation, so the government allowed GPs to raise their fees. "There is concern about the amount of money people are paying to see their GP now, so I think we have to avoid shifting cost to patients." However, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, which represents senior hospital doctors and dentists, said there was not a single area of health, which was not "desperate" for more money. Its director of policy and research, Harriet Wild, said there was little point pumping more money into primary care without balancing it up with more investment in secondary services. "For example, if you're going to invest in primary care, but you're not going to invest in secondary and hospital care, you're going to get more people needing and gaining hospital referrals to have their conditions managed and treated. But if there isn't a complementary investment in secondary care, there's not going to be anyone to manage them." With every health budget, it was "not so much where the money is going - it's where it's coming from", she noted. "It's all about savings, it's all about ending time-limited funding. Re-appropriating is the name of the game. And I think we'll continue to see more of that in 2025." Last year's Budget included an extra $16b over four years to meet cost pressures. However, Wild said that was not enough. Analysis by leading health economist Peter Huskinson found day-to-day government spend per person on health actually dropped 3 percent last year. "We are estimating that Budget 2025 is going to need an extra $2b in operational funding, just to stand still," Wild said. "Our members are constantly being asked to do more with less, and then they're asked to do more again." Health systems expert Professor Robin Gauld - who moved from Otago to Bond University in Australia this year - said there was never enough money for health. Health systems expert Professor Robin Gauld. Photo: RNZ / Ian Telfer "And [what] governments will always claim is big new investments, which there probably is - but it will be dealing with shortfalls and inflation adjustments and targeted to certain areas." Instead of just shovelling more money into a broken system, the government needed to fund research to re-design it, Professor Gauld said. He has proposed a national health insurance model like Singapore's (which works a bit like ACC), which would take the health budget out of the hands of politicians. "In Singapore, they're working really hard to solve problems with a long-range view. It's not a political bun-fight or a game like it is in New Zealand. "Here's it's a political game for people who then walk away and go on to other jobs, having said that they did 'a great job'. "They blame their successors, and their successors blame the forebears, instead of all working together in a Singaporean way to try and actually improve population health and the system that supports it." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
19-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
More Doctorless Or Closed Hospitals In NZ?
Press Release: Patient Voice Aotearoa (PVA) has been provided information, detailing the extreme staff shortages rural hospitals in New Zealand are faced with. The following table shows the advertised need for locums in our rural hospitals over the coming months. A description of 'open to any availability' or 'open to availability', means the hospital is in extreme need of one or more locums. PVA is aware that the three hospitals that are in the Far North (Dargaville, Bay of Islands, and Kaitaia) have been doctorless and have relied on telehealth services when patients have presented to ED. Gisborne Hospital has the highest doctor vacancy rate in the country at 44%, and Southland Hospital is experiencing a shortage of 18%. Nelson Hospital's staffing woes have been well reported over the past few months, with patients missing out on vital procedures and operations. Te Rau Kawakawa (Westport) had shut its doors for a month during the first year of operation for the new facility last year, as did Oamaru Hospital several times in 2023 after being unable to source a locum. Last year, a shortage of doctors at Greymouth Hospital almost saw the facility shut its doors in November, and more than once staff at Taupo Hospital had to draw contingency plans to shut their doors over the course of the previous year, again due to the shortage of doctors. Masterton Hospital ED has had to 'effectively close their doors' due to there being no beds available to admit patients to, was short by some 40 nurses last year, and had two orthopaedic surgeons resign. Whakatane has had to close its obstetrics and gynaecology service due to having no specialists in the field, and hospital staff now fear the closure of the mental health ward due to only having one psychiatrist. Whakatane ED will be staffed up to 50% when three American doctors arrive in August and September this year and the hospital only has one orthopaedic specialist on call for three or four days a week. Thames Hospital has been reliant on locums for some time, as they require over 12 full time equivalent senior medical officers and only have just over 5, and they are also short of medical officers. Timaru Hospital is struggling to recruit doctors in the fields of palliative care and anaesthesia. Wairau Hospital is low on staff overall and is struggling to recruit more, especially into paediatric care. States Chair of PVA, Malcolm Mulholland, who has been touring the country and engaging with hospital staff from rural hospitals 'It's bad enough to be so reliant on locums, but what happens if these positions cannot be filled? Are hospitals then reliant on resident medical officers, a nurse, or telehealth services? Will hospitals be doctorless or shut, as has the case in the Far North, Westport or Oamaru? Yesterday the Minister of Health announced a plan for 24/7 urgent care services. Some of the locations listed are where rural hospitals are situated that are struggling to recruit doctors. What will happen if an urgent care doctor refers a patient to a local hospital where there is no doctor? I sincerely hope that this week's budget deals with the real issue of why we can't recruit and retain doctors in our hospitals. Our government needs to pay them substantially more, so we can compete on the international market to attract their services, which in turn, will hopefully create a critical mass of doctors. If the Government fails to tackle the issue, we will start to see more doctorless hospitals or more hospitals shut their doors.
Scoop
19-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
More Doctorless Or Closed Hospitals In NZ?
Press Release: Patient Voice Aotearoa (PVA) has been provided information, detailing the extreme staff shortages rural hospitals in New Zealand are faced with. The following table shows the advertised need for locums in our rural hospitals over the coming months. A description of 'open to any availability' or 'open to availability', means the hospital is in extreme need of one or more locums. PVA is aware that the three hospitals that are in the Far North (Dargaville, Bay of Islands, and Kaitaia) have been doctorless and have relied on telehealth services when patients have presented to ED. Gisborne Hospital has the highest doctor vacancy rate in the country at 44%, and Southland Hospital is experiencing a shortage of 18%. Nelson Hospital's staffing woes have been well reported over the past few months, with patients missing out on vital procedures and operations. Te Rau Kawakawa (Westport) had shut its doors for a month during the first year of operation for the new facility last year, as did Oamaru Hospital several times in 2023 after being unable to source a locum. Last year, a shortage of doctors at Greymouth Hospital almost saw the facility shut its doors in November, and more than once staff at Taupo Hospital had to draw contingency plans to shut their doors over the course of the previous year, again due to the shortage of doctors. Masterton Hospital ED has had to 'effectively close their doors' due to there being no beds available to admit patients to, was short by some 40 nurses last year, and had two orthopaedic surgeons resign. Whakatane has had to close its obstetrics and gynaecology service due to having no specialists in the field, and hospital staff now fear the closure of the mental health ward due to only having one psychiatrist. Whakatane ED will be staffed up to 50% when three American doctors arrive in August and September this year and the hospital only has one orthopaedic specialist on call for three or four days a week. Thames Hospital has been reliant on locums for some time, as they require over 12 full time equivalent senior medical officers and only have just over 5, and they are also short of medical officers. Timaru Hospital is struggling to recruit doctors in the fields of palliative care and anaesthesia. Wairau Hospital is low on staff overall and is struggling to recruit more, especially into paediatric care. States Chair of PVA, Malcolm Mulholland, who has been touring the country and engaging with hospital staff from rural hospitals 'It's bad enough to be so reliant on locums, but what happens if these positions cannot be filled? Are hospitals then reliant on resident medical officers, a nurse, or telehealth services? Will hospitals be doctorless or shut, as has the case in the Far North, Westport or Oamaru? Yesterday the Minister of Health announced a plan for 24/7 urgent care services. Some of the locations listed are where rural hospitals are situated that are struggling to recruit doctors. What will happen if an urgent care doctor refers a patient to a local hospital where there is no doctor? I sincerely hope that this week's budget deals with the real issue of why we can't recruit and retain doctors in our hospitals. Our government needs to pay them substantially more, so we can compete on the international market to attract their services, which in turn, will hopefully create a critical mass of doctors. If the Government fails to tackle the issue, we will start to see more doctorless hospitals or more hospitals shut their doors.
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Bowel cancer: High-risk patients in Manawatū affected by halt on colonoscopies, minister told
The gastroenterology department had attempted to relieve pressure by recruiting more staff, referring patients to other regions, outsourcing and holding extra sessions on weekends. Despite these measures, wait lists had continued to grow, leading to the 'difficult' decision to pause surveillance colonoscopies in November. Symptomatic colonoscopies and bowel screening colonoscopies, in which disease was more likely to be detected, continued. The briefing showed that the pause affected a group of people who had been identified through the National Bowel Screening Programme as needing a surveillance colonoscopy once a year. This group of about 60 patients was deemed high-risk for developing colorectal cancer. 'Consequently, these high-risk [bowel screening] participants are among those patients awaiting a colonoscopy and are adversely impacted by the decision to pause surveillance in MidCentral,' the briefing to the minister said. Officials said there was a 'clinical risk' in not offering a surveillance colonoscopy for people with a history of polyps or a family history of bowel cancer. Patient Voice Aotearoa chairman Malcolm Mulholland was one of about 850 patients who received a letter in December to say their colonoscopy was on hold. He said he was particularly concerned about the 60 patients identified as high-risk of developing colorectal cancer. 'I sincerely hope that no patient awaiting a surveillance colonoscopy has subsequently been diagnosed with colorectal cancer, or worse, died,' he said. The Herald asked Health NZ whether the high-risk group had since received colonoscopies. In a statement, MidCentral group director operations Sarah Fenwick did not directly answer questions about this group. She said surveillance colonoscopies resumed in February, including additional lists on Saturdays at least twice a month. The gastroenterology department had also outsourced 187 colonoscopies to the private sector, with 80 getting their operation so far. In February, Health NZ said there were two specialist vacancies at the service. These roles were still being filled. 'Priority has been given to locum gastroenterologist support, and we are actively recruiting to fill our workforce vacancies,' Fenwick said. The briefing to the minister said other regions were also under pressure to stop surveillance colonoscopies, but MidCentral was the only region to go ahead with a pause. Health NZ data showed that about 66% of patients in the region were waiting more than the maximum recommended time for a colonoscopy (120 days for a surveillance colonoscopy) – the highest rate in the country. It comes as the Government plans to extend the age range for bowel cancer screening nationwide. The screening age will be lowered from 60 years old to 58, beginning with two regions in October.
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Hui To Further Raise Awareness On Health Woes
NZNO's Ōtautahi/Canterbury members will join local leaders and politicians to talk about the dire state of their local hospitals and the public health system at a hui on Thursday. New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) will be supported by their Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) and E tū colleagues at the event to raise public awareness and place further pressure on the Government to increase funding for health. Included among the evening's speakers is long-serving and long-suffering enrolled nurse Debbie Handisides who says the Government needs to immediately plug the sinking ship that is health care. "I'm concerned for patient safety, and their health outcomes due to the shortage of doctors, general practitioners, nurses, physios, occupational therapists, pharmacists, midwives and surgeons. "Our patients are getting delayed health care with longer wait times to see GPs so they report to hospitals more unwell." Like virtually every part of the country, Ōtautahi is struggling with under-resourcing and understaffing, and our communities are all feeling the impact, she says. "Every sector of the health system is crumbling around health workers' ears. The Government is not providing adequate funding for safe staffing, and they are disguising their frontline hiring freeze. "Every day, health workers are burning themselves out while compensating for the Government's refusal to fund a safe and effective health system. "Patients are at serious risk of harm and are even dying on waiting lists. This is not good enough and we demand action." Other speakers include Patient Voice Aotearoa's Malcolm Mulholland, Councillor and mayoral candidate Sara Templeton, an ASMS spokesperson, Spinal Trust National Programme manager Andrew Hall, and a nursing student representative. WHEN: Wednesday, 15 May 2025 TIME: 5.30pm-7pm
