Latest news with #Waikato
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Positive reactions to University of Waikato medical school
Local business, community, and medical leaders are reacting positively to the announcement of a new medical school at the University of Waikato. The government announced yesterday it will fund 82.5 million dollars towards the school, with the university paying the remaining 150 million, backed by philanthropists. Libby Kirkby-McLeod reports. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- Health
- RNZ News
'We cannot miss this moment': Waikato medical school must address health inequities
The school is due to open in 2028, with an initial roll of 120 students. Photo: Supplied A new medical school at the University of Waikato must deliver for Māori, says a Waikato-based Iwi Māori Partnership Board. The government announced on Monday it had approved $82.85 million in government funding toward the school, with the university chipping in more than $150m. The school would open in 2028, with an initial roll of 120 students. Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board (IMPB) represents 114,000 whānau Māori in the wider Waikato region. The 15 IMPBs were established in 2022 initially to support the Māori Health Authority and to advocate for whānau and communities in their regions. When the authority was disestablished they picked up some of its responsibility . Te Tiratū co-chair Tipa Mahuta said the investment in the medical school marks a significant opportunity to address long-standing health inequities and workforce shortages in the region - especially for rural, Māori and underserved communities. Te Tiratū co-chair Tipa Mahuta Photo: Supplied/Sarah Sparks But she said this can only be realised if Māori health workforce development, cultural safety, and equity are embedded as foundational pillars in the new medical school's design, training model, and governance. "Whānau across Waikato have told us time and again: they want to see more Māori health professionals-people who understand our values, our lived experiences, and our ways of being as Māori. "Cultural safety is not a nice-to-have. It is essential to clinical excellence, trust, and good health outcomes. If patients don't feel safe, they disengage-and that can cost lives." An artist's impression of the new Division of Health Precinct at the University of Waikato, which will be home to the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine. Photo: Supplied Te Tiratū urged the government, Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, Hauora Māori Directorate and the University of Waikato to work closely with iwi, hapū and community partners to shape a graduate school that delivers on its promise - not only to grow the GP workforce of clinical placements across the country, but to heal a system given Māori die on average at least seven years before non-Māori. "We cannot miss this moment. A third medical school must reflect a third way-a culturally grounded, equity-driven, future-facing model of training that serves all New Zealanders, starting with those most underserved," co-chair Hagen Tautari said. Te Tiratū was ready to partner and contribute to the new 'Division of Health' health precinct opening on the University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato campus, he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Rural practices will benefit from new Waikato medical school
The New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine will be located within a new Division of Health Precinct. Photo: Supplied The announcement of a new medical school at the University of Waikato has been welcomed by local business, community, and medical leaders. The government confirmed yesterday it will fund $82.5 million of the school , with the university paying the remaining $150 million, backed by philanthropists. Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good said he had no concerns about the university being able to secure the money needed to get the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine off the ground. "There are some very wealthy families in the Waikato that you probably have never heard of, and they are very community-minded," he said. Good said people who make money in the Waikato put it back into the region. While he spoke warmly about people in Waikato, he was not so impressed with some of the actions of those outside the region. He said there had been a long-running campaign against a Waikato medical school by the existing medical schools in Auckland and Otago. But the Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in Auckland Professor Warwick Bagg told Morning Report that while the university put forward its case against a third school, it was pleased that the government had invested so heavily in medical student training. "If you are a patient waiting to see a doctor you are going to be pleased that in the years to come we will have more locally trained doctors to see, I think that's really good news," he said. An artist's impression of the new Division of Health Precinct at the University of Waikato, which will be home to the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine. Photo: Supplied Kawhia is a small coastal settlement west of Ōtorohanga, where John Burton has been a local GP for 33 years. He said he was thrilled the new medical school was happening and he wished it had happened 20 years ago. Dr Burton has trained many student doctors over the years and said he enjoyed it. But he said rural practices currently spent a lot of time training the wrong people and he was looking forward to students who were not coming from the big cities. "We have a lot of medical students come here, down from Auckland, and they all say they love it, it's wonderful experience, but for the majority of them they're Aucklanders and this is a foreign world for them and although it's a lovely adventure, it's not what they're going to end up doing." Rural Health Network chair Dr Fiona Bolden said students from rural areas who trained rurally were six times more likely to work as a rural doctor. Down the country a bit from Kawhia, Waitomo mayor John Robertson said a Waikato-based medical school was a positive announcement for young people in his town. He said proximity to training opportunities was important. "The fact that it's so close is an advantage, and for some students they can live in the area, get a bus up to Hamilton each day," he said. A University of Waikato spokesperson told RNZ the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine would be located within a new Division of Health precinct. Detailed designs were underway and work was expected to start later this year after the main contract had been awarded and the building consent had been received. The university said it also had plans for dedicated student accommodation next to the Health Precinct for medical school students. The first students are expected to be welcomed in 2028. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Waikato University promises planned medical school won't be downsized despite less govt funding
Health Minister Simeon Brown. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER Waikato University is promising its planned new medical school will not need to be downsized, despite the government putting much less money than originally expected into the project. Opposition parties, however, want the government to show how it arrived at the revised costings. In 2023, National campaigned on a $380 million school in Waikato , with the Crown putting up $280m and the university raising the remaining $100m. However, on Monday, the government confirmed it would contribute $85.25m to the school , with the university chipping in $150m, with the help of philanthropists. The revised numbers came as the result of a business case , which was secured by ACT in coalition talks. The school, which will start its four-year programme in 2028, will prioritise clinical placements in rural and regional communities. "The admissions criteria will be around graduate entry, and it will be about ensuring that the people who come forward have demonstrated commitment to rural communities," said Health Minister Simeon Brown. "That will be a key part of the admissions criteria: to make sure that we are training in place, staying in place. That's a key part of why this government's investing in it." The Rural Health Network said the school was an "exciting opportunity" to boost the much-needed rural workforce. Rural Health Network Photo: Supplied / Rural Health Network Dr Fiona Bolden, chair of Hauora Taiwhenua, said rural-origin students, who were trained rurally, and by rural health professionals, were six times more likely to work rurally than otherwise. "I think that this gives a chance for those people who may be more diverse and done other other degrees, first of all, to find a way to get through medical school," she said. "The design of the course has been set up to make sure that they are trained in long-term general practice placements, so they get to learn about continuity and the community in which they're placed." However, with the first graduates not set to enter the workforce until 2032, Dr Bolden expressed frustration it had taken this long. "We already need these people right now, we're already about 130 full-time equivalent GPs short in rural areas right now, and we only have 500 full-time equivalents in total. What that actually means is a lot more GPs than just the 130, because it's quite unusual now for someone to work a full-time equivalent because of the nature of the job and how the job's changed." Throughout the process, the country's two existing medical schools argued they could train more students at a lower cost. Reacting to the announcement, the University of Otago said it was confident it could continue to deliver high-quality medical education. "We are disappointed that government did not follow the alternative and more cost-effective option of further increasing the intakes into the country's existing medical schools," said associate professor Megan Gibbons, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Health Sciences. "However, any investment that supports growing and sustaining the health workforce is a step toward strengthening care for our communities - particularly in rural and underserved regions." The University of Auckland currently had 170 medical students at Waikato Hospital and in general practices in the region. Professor Warwick Bagg, Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, said proceeding with the Waikato school was a positive signal for medical education in New Zealand. "One hundred and twenty additional doctors will in time contribute to addressing the workforce shortage. They will add to the 360-plus University of Auckland graduate doctors each year," he said. University of Auckland Medical and Health Sciences Dean, professor Warwick Bagg. Photo: Supplied Labour and the Green Party called on the government to show its working. Brown confirmed the business case would be proactively released "soon", but would not put a specific timeframe on it. Labour's health spokeperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said decisions needed to be transparent. "It's harder and more expensive to see a doctor than ever, and we need to be confident investments in medical training will deliver. It is not clear how this investment is better for New Zealand than the alternatives," she said. The Greens' tertiary education spokesperson Francisco Hernandez pointed to earlier Treasury advice which had concerns over Waikato's ability to contribute to the costs. "The government got advice that approving the Waikato medical school would raise the risk profile of Waikato University from medium to high," he said. Despite the revised costs, Hernandez expressed scepticism the project would not blow its budget. "The cost estimates have shifted so much, I wouldn't be surprised if there's scope creep down the line, and Waikato Uni ends up having to come back to the government with a begging bowl, because the cost ends up being more than what they thought it would be." Green Party tertiary education spokesperson Francisco Hernandez. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith Brown said the Tertiary Education Commission had provided advice to the Universities Minister, Dr Shane Reti, which showed Waikato was in a strong financial position, and could leverage its balance sheet. He and the Prime Minister were satisfied Waikato could meet its end of the bargain, and if the philanthropists could not come through the university had the "financial firepower" to backstop it. "They are confident, having reached out to their donors, that they've got really strong pledges to be able to support that, and we have also wanted to be reassured that those pledges are real. That's why the Treasury work happened, and why we've taken a little bit of time to work through it," Christopher Luxon said. Waikato University said its planned new medical school would not need to be downsized despite the government putting much less money into the project. University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley said the initial cost of the project was a high-level estimate of the maximum funding that might be needed. "It was always going to be the case that as we interrogated the costs in detail, it [the overall cost] would come down. "The costs that we've now identified are the true costs that reflect the facilities we actually need." He said the university expected its $150m contribution to be half from operating profits and half from donations. "We're a long way down the track with commitments to that level of philanthropic support already, and the university is in very good financial shape at the moment. "We're confident we can make the commitment." The university's focus would be training students who wanted to work in primary care and outside main centres, where the need was greatest, Quigley said. "We have a plan to ensure that students spend three of their four years in the medicine programme in clinical placement in rural and provincial areas." The university'sprogramme had the support of communities, doctors, and other healthcare professionals, he said. "Where we've got to today has taken a while, but probably was necessary to build the level of support needed." The university was finalising where students would go for their clinical placements with rural and regional communities. Quigley said it was about time New Zealand gave those with any undergraduate degree an easier pathway to enter medicine, in line with other countries like Australia. University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley. Photo: RNZ / Joanne O'Brien ACT leader David Seymour, meanwhile, was taking credit for the money saved from National's original proposal. The party had secured a commitment in its coalition agreement with National to conduct a business case before the project could go ahead. "I guess when people come to you and say 'we've figured out how to do it $200m cheaper,' it's kind of hard to say no. I think saving $200m and getting a third medical school, not a bad day," Seymour said. Luxon, on the other hand, said the decision was made as a Cabinet. "Success can have many fathers and mothers, and if everyone's feeling good about it in our government, that's fantastic," he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
New Waikato medical school gets government green light
The government has green-lit a new medical school at the University of Waikato, ending months of delays due to coalition wrangling. It was a National election promise, and it has finally got the go ahead, with the government announcing it will front up around $80 million while the University pays $150 million for the project. It will add 120 doctor training places each year, starting in 2028. The announcement also came as inflation edges to a 12-month high, and the Minister in charge of Pharmac released a new letter of expectations. Political reporter Lillian Hanly spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
