New plan to grow health workforce
‘Earn-as-you-learn’, targeted rural programmes among Govt initiatives
The Government has launched a major plan to plug significant healthcare worker shortages that are currently forecast to see nearly 13,000 extra nurses and over 5000 doctors needed within a decade.
Overall the health system currently has about 8000 vacancies, and based on current population growth an extra 1600 workers a year will be needed out to 2032, meaning if nothing changes, the gap could grow to 25,000 healthcare professionals.
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said the plan would bring together education and immigration settings to not only grow the workforce but reduce attrition.
Initiatives include “earn-as-you-learn” programmes, targeted rural programmes and funding for 50 new medical school places.
The Health Workforce Plan was developed under the new health entities Te Whatu Ora — Health New Zealand and Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority) with clinical workforce, professional bodies, unions and Government input.
New data released yesterday showed current gaps in the health workforce, based on vacancy rates, with estimates out to 2032.
The plan included six broader priority areas to support and retain the workforce, growing pathways for Māori and Pacific communities in health, driving locally-led innovation in training and bolstering priority workforce groups.
Verrall said there had already been “significant progress” over the past 12 months. This included more than 8000 nurses registered for the first time in the 2022/23 registration year, up from around 5000 registered for the first time in 2021/22.
Approved funding was in place to enable 50 additional medical student places for the 2024 intake and 34,000 nurses, enrolled nurses and healthcare assistants had been awarded significant pay uplifts, increasing pay for most nurses by more than 14 per cent.
“We now have the road map to build on this to further retain, grow and recruit our health workers,” Verrall said. “While the modelling in this plan might be confronting to some, I think it is important that Te Whatu Ora is clear on workforce shortages to enable action.
“Today’s plan also signals bigger shifts needed over time to make our health workforce sustainable. Those are focused on reducing reliance on the global market, growing our own rural health teams and building a workforce representative of communities across New Zealand.”
Global workforce shortages and long-term under-investment have put a lot of pressure on our dedicated health workers and these challenges aren’t unique to New Zealand, Verrall said.
“Over the next year, stabilising our domestic workforce and supporting them to manage the day-to-day pressures will be a key focus.
“It will take time for the actions we’re taking to be fully realised, however we are laying the foundations for much-needed fundamental change in how we regulate, train, invest and recruit for the future.
“This requires partnership and drive from other parts of our health system, and across government. It must be a key focus for all our health agencies over the next year.”
Specific initiatives in the workforce plan include:
• Growing rural and interdisciplinary training programmes to enable larger student intakes.
• Growing “earn-as-you-learn” programmes across health professions.
• Creating 135 new training places a year for allied and scientific professionals, including paramedics, oral health therapists, radiation therapists and pharmacy prescribers and anaesthetic technicians.
• Seed funding for new programmes to grow these allied professions.
• Sustained investment in Return to Nursing and support for internationally-qualified nurses (IQNs) to get ready to practise in New Zealand.
• Launch of a Return to Health project focused on flexible opportunities for those with health qualifications to return to work.
• Expanding access to cultural and hardship support for Māori and Pacific students in training to minimise student attrition and grow workforces faster.
• Establishing funding for Māori providers to take more students on placement and to offer increased training and development roles.