Senior doctors have hit back at the Health Minister's accusation that they're putting politics before patients, saying he's deaf to what healthworkers are actually saying.
Health Minister Simeon Brown has come out firing at the senior doctors' annual conference, accusing them of "crossing an ethical line" with industrial action that was hurting patients.
The meeting was at Te Papa in Wellington on Thursday, which comes ahead of further strike action next week.
In his speech to the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, he's called on doctors to call off their strike and put patients before politics.
There were audible cries of disbelief when he said the action — while their legal right — had "crossed an ethical line".
Brown said strikes had seen thousands of procedures cancelled or delayed, and there would be more delays next week.
Health NZ told RNZ if it proceeds, the upcoming strike would see more than 900 procedures cancelled and more than 1380 first specialist assessments wiped from the schedule.
The room erupted in laughter when he said he had been advised by Health NZ that the average salary for a senior doctor was $325,000, and the employer's offer represented a $160 million pay rise.
"No one disputes that doctors need to be recognised for the job you do, but New Zealanders also deserve a health system that works for them," Brown said.
He said patients were paying the price for the strike action, and accused the union of walking away from negotiations.
"Patients should never be collateral damage in disputes between management and unions."
In an interview with RNZ's Midday Report, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said the minister was wrong to suggest striking healthworkers had forgotten about patients.
"In fact that is a key driver in what is pushing our members to take strike action in the face of Health NZ and a government that is deaf to what is really going on with our health workforce."
The minister was evidently receiving inaccurate information from Health NZ, she said.
It was "particularly offensive" to members that Brown continued to claim the average pay for senior doctors and dentists was $347,000.
"In fact there were several questions to the minister that we didn't have time to put to him, which said 'Pay us that, and we'll be happy'."
Dalton said when Brown accused the union of walking away from negotiations, he ignored the fact that the union had made two requests to Health NZ's negotiating team for talks in the last month, both of which were rejected.
Doctors did not want to strike, but many more patients were missing out on care due to ongoing workforce shortages than were affected by industrial action, she said.
"Patients are collateral damage in a system every day that refuses to staff or resource services locally, regionally, nationally to allow people to get the care they need in a timely fashion.
"Every single day people are missing out in care because this government is not interested in putting in the real resources which are needed."
Minister faces questions from the workforce
Brown's speech was punctuated by groans, genteel jeering and hoots of disbelief, including when he commented on doctor's generous pay, and claimed the "health system is finally turning a corner".
Several people in the room told the minister that the number of patients suffering delays due to strike action was a fraction of those missing out every day due to chronic workforce shortages.
Union president Katie Ben, a Nelson Hospital anaesthetist, said health workers were seeing the impact of short-staffing on their patients on a daily basis.
"We have now taken to putting the number of times the patient has been cancelled on the operating list to ensure the patient doesn't get cancelled for the fourth, fifth or sixth time."
Non-clinical managers were cancelling planned care because they could not fill rosters, she said.
Ben herself is booked for surgery in a couple of weeks.
"And my manager has already emailed me to ask for my surgeon's contact details, so she can liaise with her about when to put me back on the roster."
Waikato Hospital rheumatologist Alan Doube said many people (with crippling chronic conditions) did not even get a first specialist appointment (FSA).
"In Waikato we decline regularly 50% of our FSA so we can provide some kind of sensible ongoing care."
Emergency medicine specialist Tom Morton asked the minister for his plan to fix the crisis in recruitment and retention.
"Our ED waiting time have blown out with more than doubling of patients leaving without being seen, which I think is a significant marker of unmet need that's not being recorded or reported on officially."
NZ-trained doctors bolstering staff numbers across the Tasman
There was "support" for the minister from one unexpected quarter.
Tongue firmly in her cheek, Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation representative Bernadette Mulholland "thanked" the New Zealand Government on behalf of Australia for funding the training and professional development of doctors to staff hospitals across the Tasman.
"Can you confirm that the New Zealand Government will continue to invest significant public funds to pay for the training of New Zealand doctors so that they may leave New Zealand to supplement our medical skills in Australian hospitals because our country pays higher wages and better conditions in our public hospitals for our health workers?"
Over the laughter, Brown thanked her for the question.
"We're very grateful for all the Australian doctors working in our hospitals who I meet, and all the international medical graduates."
Some 43.3% of doctors working in New Zealand trained overseas – but most of them do not stay long-term.
According to Medical Council data, 75% leave within 10 years.
Speaking to media afterwards, Brown doubled down on his criticism of the union for rejecting his request for binding arbitration and balloting its members on strike action on the day it spurned a new offer.
"My message very clearly to the unions is put aside the politics, put patients first and call off next week's strike."
In a rare move, Health NZ has applied to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) to override bargaining and decide terms and conditions for doctors.
Union leader Sarah Dalton said Health NZ has rejected two offers of mediation in the last month.
When asked what it would take to avert next week's strike, she said Health NZ would firstly have to offer another bargaining date and make an offer that was "substantially different" to its previous one.
Some of the minister's "extraordinary" claims in his speech – including about a $40m fund on offer for recruitment – were expressed in very different terms to how they had been presented to the union, she said.
"It is clear to me that what the minister is being told by Health NZ about what they're saying in bargaining is quite different from what's happening."
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Senior doctors would be joining the strike set for later this month.
It's been coined a "mega strike" and is shaping up to be the largest in decades, with an estimated 100,000 workers involved, including nurses, dentists, healthcare workers and teachers.
They want safe staffing levels, better pay and conditions, as well as more respect and recognition.
Senior doctors announced they would join the strike earlier this month. Members of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists voted 83% in favour of a four-hour strike on Thursday, October 23 from 11am.
The union said its officials had twice this month asked for bargaining but that offer had been rejected by Health NZ.
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