“We really are reliant on Americans. Without Trump we wouldn’t have lots of staff here. Without that global circumstance, things would already have collapsed.
“The reality is that if there weren’t a bunch of Americans interested in coming here like myself, we wouldn’t have a hospital right now.”
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists industrial officer Jane Lawless said only Trump was preventing the New Zealand public health system coming to an “absolute tipping point”.
Many American doctors were coming to New Zealand because of the “values dissonance” - described as “the conflict or disconnect between the values and beliefs of different cultures, societies or individuals".
Rains said while wage negotiations were an issue, the greater concern was recruitment and retention.
Better wages “were part of it” in terms of attracting and retaining staff and competing with Australia and other countries in order to provide healthcare.
It was demoralising to see patients not getting access to equitable healthcare, he said.
“That’s really hard for us. Doctors are dedicated to helping people.”
Health NZ chief medical officer Dr Richard Sullivan, in a statement to the Gisborne Herald, said a fair and reasonable offer had been offered given budget constraints and the current economic environment.
“We recognise the concerns raised in regard to workforce shortages and we are committed to growing our permanent medical workforce.
“Since August 2024 we have hired 3.5 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) permanent doctors and 6 FTE fixed term.
“In addition to this we have hired a permanent chief medical officer, who will start later this year, and appointed 11 FTE permanent doctors, who will start in the coming months.
“In the Health NZ offer to senior doctors, we offered an allowance of $25,000 for hard-to-recruit districts, including Tairāwhiti, to assist in attracting and retaining senior doctors.”
Lawless said the critical issue was how many doctors had arrived and how many had left Gisborne Hospital.
From August 2024, at the time of the first letter to the Government, “we were one rugby team away from this being right.
“We’ve now a little bit further away. This is fixable.”
ASMS research showed health spending had been “falling behind” in real terms for more than a decade, she said. Investment was required.
Lawless said there was a gap between the NZ Health statement’s “fair and reasonable offer” and “we are committed to growing our permanent medical workforce”. It was cognitive dissonance.
Lawless said doctors wanted Health Minister Simeon Brown to come to Gisborne to address the senior doctor vacancy issue.
Raines said the NZ Health statement referring to recruiting 3.3 doctors was a statement of failure when it was considered how many doctors were needed.
However, the recruitment allowance of $25,000 was “a move in the right direction”.
Retired man Steve Lawrence turned up at Heipipi/Endeavour Park to support doctors.
“We are such an isolated city that we can’t just go to the next hospital,” he said.
“I’m a pensioner and my health requirements are going to increase.
“We are so short of doctors.”
