Poaching of doctors no threat to system says Health Minister

By RENEE KIRIONA


An offer by Australian hospitals to pay New Zealand doctors about double what they are paid in New Zealand will not threaten the country's health system, says Health Minister Annette King.

But some people are not convinced, believing it is only a matter of time before more doctors head for greener pastures.

To staff weekend emergency shifts, public hospitals in New South Wales have offered New Zealand doctors free domestic flights, accommodation and $138 an hour.

While the New Zealand Medical Association believes the latest poaching initiative will exacerbate the shortage of doctors in New Zealand, the Government disagrees.

"Hospitals in New South Wales are fully aware that hiring our doctors for weekend work is not a long-term solution. Nor is it one for the doctors going over there," Ms King said. "Because its not a long-term solution I don't see it as being a threat."

But the association's chairwoman, Tricia Briscoe, disagreed.

"The Government needs to start implementing its plan to retain New Zealand doctors now.

"The offer by Australia is something we should be concerned about because while it's only a short-term solution now it has the potential to lead to more."

Over the past six years an increasing number of doctors moved overseas to work because of higher pay and more incentives.

As a result general practitioners, in particular, had become scarce in rural areas although this trend had now spread to urban centres, Dr Briscoe said.

"We've got to accept we are in a global market so we have to be very competitive and that means providing a better work environment, paying more and providing more incentives."

But paying doctors at the same rate as those in Australia and the US would never be possible.

"We'll never be able to offer doctors and other such professionals those rates because we are simply not as wealthy as those countries," Ms King said.

Some aspects of the Government's retention plan had been brought forward six to eight years, Ms King said.

That included spending $32 million on retaining GPs in rural areas over the past three years and increasing the number of medical students by 20.

Australia is thought to be losing many of its doctors because to practise they need to pay indemnity insurance which can cost as much as $100,000 a year.