Health minister addresses Gisborne doctor shortage amid staffing crisis

Health Minister Simeon Brown was in Gisborne last week to visit health providers and Gisborne Hospital, where doctor recruitment issues were a major topic of discussion. Photo / NZ Herald

• Health Minister Simeon Brown acknowledges challenges in recruiting senior doctors to Gisborne Hospital.
• Brown announced health targets will be enshrined in law to deliver faster care and shorter wait times.
• The Government plans $16.7 billion over four years for more doctors, nurses and better outcomes.

Health Minister Simeon Brown has acknowledged the challenges in recruiting senior doctors to Gisborne Hospital and says work is being done to “ensure there is a pipeline of recruitment under way”.

Brown was in Gisborne last week during which he visited various health providers and the hospital to meet with acting director of operations Nicola Barrington, heads of departments and other senior doctors.

Dr Alex Raines, who met the minister at the hospital, said the senior doctors’ vacancy rate was 37%, the same as when doctors sent an initial letter of concern to the Government in August 2024.

“We certainly hope that this visit has contributed to his understanding of the healthcare challenges here in Tairāwhiti,” Raines said.

“We are still waiting to hear what new actions he is planning to implement to address the deepening staffing crisis.

“I am sure he will want to reassure our community and explain what solutions he is proposing to improve access to excellent and equitable primary and secondary care in Tairāwhiti.”

Brown told the Gisborne Herald that since the Government came to power in 2023, more than 1700 nurses and 200 doctors had been employed across the country.

Another 11 FTE (fulltime equivalent) doctors would be employed in Gisborne in the months ahead.

However, Gisborne doctors have often disputed the recruitment numbers suggested by Health NZ, or argued that recruitment efforts needed to start as doctors arrived as many were on short-term contracts.

In response to this, Brown said recruitment was a “constant business ... a challenge across the country”.

“We acknowledge the challenge in Gisborne. Health NZ is working to ensure there is a pipeline of recruitment under way, particularly focused here in Gisborne.”

It was a lengthy process for doctors and their families to move to another country, and the recruitment/ accreditation system in New Zealand needed to be more efficient, he said.

Brown said the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, which represents senior doctors, had rejected a proposed allowance of $25,000 for hard-to-recruit districts, including Tairāwhiti, to assist in attracting and retaining senior doctors.

The Government had “inherited Health NZ when it was in a state of disarray from the previous Government jamming the 20 health boards together”.

“It was not focused on outcomes for patients. That’s the focus I’m trying to bring as the Minister of Health.”

Since leaving Gisborne, Brown has announced health targets will be enshrined in law “so every part of the system is focused on delivering faster care, shorter wait times, higher immunisation rates and real results”.

Brown, while in Gisborne, said the health targets set by the Government showed Gisborne Hospital was delivering quality care.

He said Gisborne was one of the best performing hospitals in the shorter days emergency department health target, or second out of 20 health districts.

Brown was questioned about Tairāwhiti performing badly in the immunisation health target (95% of children should be fully immunised at 24 months of age) and being ranked 17th out of 20 health districts. He said the latest figure available to him (May 18) showed 75.6% for the district compared with 69.8% in the quarter ended December – the latest publicly available figure.

“There had been positive improvement,” Brown said. “It is very clear there is more room to move in this district, but that is a 6% increase.”

He said the Government needed to “focus on the record investment we are making in frontline services”.

Additional funding of $16.7 billion over four years would result in more doctors, more nurses and better outcomes, he said.

Health funding had increased by 7% or $1.43b this year.

Health expenditure would go up for 2025/26 by $1.251b for “cost pressures” as recommended by Health NZ, but overall there would be total increased funding of $1.37b to also cover for “demographics” such as population growth and technology costs.

“We are funding over and above the cost pressures.”

Government figures showed health expenditure would increase by $1.355b in 2026/27 to cover cost pressures and by a total of $1.37b to cover demographics.

Brown said the “future funding track” with cost pressures and demographics funding would result in additional services required to meet the needs of the public.

“Ultimately, we need to make sure Health NZ is delivering the outcome from that investment.”

Asked whether the amount of funding above “cost pressures” could bring transformative change to a much-criticised health system, Brown said one dollar in five from Government spending went to health, or $32.7b.

“Ultimately, it’s not just about the amount of money, it’s about the outcomes. That’s what the focus has to be on.”

He said the previous Government had removed the health targets and they had all gone backwards, despite increased funding.

“We’re putting more money in, we have more nurses, we have more doctors.

“Our focus has to be on ensuring the system is delivering more for patients.”