Doctors' desire to leave NZ may be fading, says report

John Adams. Photo / Supplied

Doctors are getting older, are working fewer hours and may be more likely to stay in the country than a few years ago, the Medical Council's latest workforce survey shows.

Medical Council chairman John Adams is cautiously hopeful that the 2009 survey indicates that the trend for doctors to leave New Zealand after graduating has been arrested or even reversed.

Dr Adams said he did not want to overstate the positive retention statistics but said that compared with the class of 2000, of whom 74 per cent were still registered in New Zealand by the third year, 85 per cent of the class of 2006 were working in New Zealand last year.

The trend was heartening and suggested initiatives undertaken by bodies such as Health Workforce New Zealand were bearing fruit.

These initiatives included allowing doctors to travel overseas for experience while ensuring a job on their return, and various professional development drives.

The survey showed the total number of doctors registered had risen to 13,269 compared with 11,253 in 2004.

It revealed that doctors were working fewer hours - 44.2 hours a week last year compared with 45.8 in 2004.

The proportion of women was rising, 39 per cent compared with 35 per cent in 2004. The average age of doctors was 45, compared with 44 last year and 42 in 1990.

Dr Adams said the ageing trend was set to increase and a higher number of older doctors would need more support with administrative tasks and a lighter caseload.

The proportions of Maori and Pacific doctors both dropped slightly, and these groups continued to be under-represented in the workforce, the survey found.

Regionally, Otago fared well for its number of doctors, with 349 per 100,000 head of population, compared with 191 in Southland. The national average was 307.

A report released by the Government last week highlighted a predicted shortfall of health workers, projected to be 23,467 by 2021.

* The report recommended using more unregulated health workers with supervision, and investing in technology to provide medical skills to rural areas.

- Otago Daily Times