National has promised to establish a third medical school in at Hamilton, in order to address what leader Christopher Luxon says is a health "workforce crisis".
At Waikato University today, where the new medical school would be based, Luxon said New Zealand did not train enough doctors to meet the demands of its growing and aging population, nor to replace workforce attrition through retirement.
"A National government I lead will open a new medical school in Waikato to boost the number of doctors being trained."
He said the health sector was in a "workforce crisis" and sick and injured people were waiting hours in emergency departments, or weeks to see a GP, as well as waiting "months" on surgical waitlists.
The capital establishment cost was expected to be $380 million, the policy document said, with the government contributing up to $280m - pending a final business case - and the remainder to be raised by Waikato University.
The new school of medicine will operate a graduate entry only model, admitting students who have already completed a degree and allowing them to undertake four years of medical study (rather than the five required for undergraduates). Initially, the school would enrol 120 students, starting in 2027.
National would also increase the number of medical school placements at Auckland and Otago Universities by a total of 50 by 2025, he said.
“This will be in addition to the 50 extra places already funded at Budget 2023.
“Together, this will see an additional 220 doctors graduating a year by 2030, compared to just 50 more under Labour’s plan."
Luxon said the new medical school would have clinical training alliances with other universities and medical facilities around regional New Zealand, a model that would "deliver more doctors committed to serving in provincial and rural parts of the country".
“Increasing homegrown doctors is vital to delivering the public services that New Zealanders deserve and National sees this as an essential and long-term investment.
“This medical school should have been started five years ago as the previous National Government planned. Labour cancelled it in 2018 and their short-sightedness means we will have to continue to rely heavily on immigration to increase our doctor numbers in the short term.
“A responsible government plans for the future, and that is exactly what a National government will do.
“National understands the importance of growing New Zealand’s health workforce. That is why we have already announced plans to boost nurses and midwives’ numbers by paying their student loan repayments if they enter a five year bonding agreement, and make New Zealand a more attractive destination for international nurses."
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