Labour lukewarm on Waikato med school

A Waikato medical school wouldn’t be a priority under Labour.

The proposal is for future doctors from rural communities to be selected for four years of training – much of that out of the city environment.

The idea is driven by two major Waikato players – the university and the district health board – and has the full support of Waikato mayors and a $5 million pledge from Sir Owen Glenn.

But it has faced an apparent counterbid from the country’s existing medical schools in Auckland and Dunedin and Labour leader Andrew Little says his party has other priorities for precious health dollars.

The comments follow lukewarm receptions from local Labour list MP Sue Moroney and education spokesman Chris Hipkins.

‘‘I just know that the investment required to get a medical faculty up and running and attract the academic community to go with it is a big ask,’’ Little said.

New Zealand is clearly short of doctors in rural areas, he said, but he’s cautious.

‘‘I haven’t seen any of their paperwork ... but for a country of 4.7 million people, with two med schools at the moment, I would need to be convinced that there’s benefit not just to Waikato University but to New Zealand generally. That’s not to say they can’t prove that case.’’

It’s estimated a new medical school will cost $100m to set up. The Government is currently considering the business case.

If it’s a thumbs down from National and Labour’s in power after September, it won’t be a top priority to reconsider the bid, Little said.

‘‘Actually, getting money into healthcare, getting additional funding into the system to provide healthcare, is probably the top priority.’’

Labour has singled out mental health, getting patients their first specialist appointments faster, and more operations such as hip and knee replacements.

But rising accommodation costs for students living in Auckland might provide a reason to look further into the Waikato proposal, Little said.

When asked about Otago and Auckland’s suggestion of a national school of rural health – which also aims to encourage more students to choose general practice – Little said perhaps all three universities could work together.

‘‘Good on Waikato if their bid has caused those other med schools to change what they do.’’

The medical school pitch came up in an audience member’s question after Little’s State of the Nation address at The Helm Bar last week.

‘‘I like the idea that they want to train up GPs, doctors, medical specialists who know about rural healthcare and isolated healthcare. We do need that, so I want to see what the business case is,’’ he said.

‘‘Without seeing that, it would be wrong of me to say, yeah, go for it, guns blazing, because I don’t know what all the implications are.’’

Hipkins had earlier warned the school would have to build ‘‘a very good case’’ and warned people wouldn’t want to study there if they didn’t think the education quality was high.

Hipkins’ comments disappointed district health board member and Hamilton Deputy Mayor Martin Gallagher.

By contrast, Hamilton’s two government MPs had been ‘‘very helpful’’, Gallagher said at Wednesday’s health board meeting.

‘‘I’m being diplomatic. It just reminds us, obviously, that we want to get as many people as possible on board,’’ Gallagher said.

He’d heard Waikato DHB chief executive Nigel Murray speak about the proposal at community meetings in Thames and Tokoroa, where the reaction from the public was exceptionally positive.

In the past, Waikato Hospital battled to set up its cardiac surgery unit, board member and retired cardiologist Clyde Wade said.

The view then was that if anything needed fixing, it could be done in Wellington, Christchurch, or Dunedin.

‘‘We’re going to have to be quite judicious in pushing our barrow because there will be a lot of forces wishing to maintain the status quo or increase their share of the status-quo pie,’’ he said.

That included using every argument to win support, he said.

‘‘Particularly around things like overcrowding in Auckland. If you want to increase the output of doctors, you want to get it out of Auckland because the students aren’t going to be able to live there,’’ Wade said.

It was also important the concepts underpinning the Waikato medical school proposal were fully explained to the region’s clinicians, Wade said.

‘‘I get the impression some of them don’t fully understand the concept and we want them backing it wholeheartedly rather than not being sure about what it’s all about.’’