John MacDonald: I’m glad I’m not working in the health system

I’m glad I’m not working in the health system. Not that I’d be much use if I was, I’ve never been that great with blood.  

But the reason I’m glad I’m not a doctor or a nurse or a GP or a specialist, is the big stick that’s being pointed at all those people by the Government with its new targets. 

If I was starting a shift on a ward somewhere right now, I’d be thinking ‘here we go again’. Another government treating health as if it’s a factory. And only doing it to look good for the people on the sidelines, not the ones in there doing the doing. 

And it’s not just this government, governments have done it for years. Tinkering with waiting lists. Promising big spend-ups but not delivering. Labour’s done it, National’s done it, now the coalition’s doing it. 

And the reason they do it is because they think we are sucked-in by all this serious-face, performance indicator stuff. When all it does is set us up for disappointment and makes the people who do all the amazing work in our health system feel like they’re nothing more than political puppets. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for trying to do things better. And I’m all for trying to be as successful as you can be in something, but knowing what's expected of you and how it’s going to be measured is just part of it. 

The ones demanding the performance also need to ask the ones responsible for delivery what they need to make it happen. Something the doctors and nurses and GPs and specialists aren’t being asked by this government and haven’t been asked by any government – all they’re told is ‘do better, do better’.  

And today they’re being told that 90 percent of cancer patients have to start getting treatment within a month; that 95 percent of kids have to be fully immunised by the time they’re two; that 95 percent of people who turn up to an emergency department have to be treated, discharged or transferred somewhere else within six hours; and that 95 percent of people can’t be left waiting longer than four months for elective surgery. 

Which all sounds brilliant. It all looks good on paper, but there’s no more money coming to make it happen.  

But Health Minister Shane Reti seems to think that’s not going to be too much of a problem. The likes of the nurses union, though, disagrees - saying the health system is just being set-up for failure. Again. And I agree. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk Z'B.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Tell you what. I am so glad I'm not working
in the health system this morning. Not that I'd be
much useful. I was because I've never been that great
with blood. But the reason I'm glad I'm not a
doctor or a nurse, or a GP or a specialist,
anyone really in the health system. The reason I'm glad

(00:33):
I'm not one of them is the big stick that's
been pointed at all those people by the government with
these new targets that it confirmed yesterday, the new health targets.
If I was starting a shift on a ward somewhere
right now, you know what I'll be thinking. I'll be thinking,
here we go again. Here we go again. Another government
trading health as if it's a factory and only doing

(00:56):
it to look good for the people on the sidelines,
not the ones in there doing the doing, not the
doctors and the nurses of the GPS, the specialists or
any of them. And it's not just this government either.
The governments have done it. They've done it for years,
tinkering with waiting lists, promising big spend ups, but not delivering.
Labour's done it, they're guilty. National has done it. Now
the coalition's doing it. And the reason governments do it

(01:21):
is because they think we are sucked in by all
this serious face performance indicator stuff, when all it does
is set us up for disappointment and makes the people
who do all the amazing work in our whole system
people have just mentioned, makes them feel like they're nothing
more than political puppets. It don't get me wrong, I'm

(01:45):
all for trying to do things better. I'm all for
trying to be as successful as you can be in something.
That's what drives us here. You know, we know what's
expected of us and we know how it's going to
be measured. But we're also asked, and Jess, we'll confirm this.
We are also asked time and time again by the

(02:07):
haunhows why do we need to be successful? What support
do we need? All of that stuff. All the time,
they're asking us something that doctors and nurses and gps
and specialists aren't being asked by this government and haven't
been asked by any government. All they're told is do better,
do better, do better. And today they're being told that

(02:30):
ninety percent of cancer patients have to start getting treatment
within a month. They've been told that ninety five percent
of kids have to be fully immunized by the time
they're too They've been told that ninety five percent of
people to turn up to an emergency department have to
be treated, discharged, or transferred somewhere else within six hours.
And they've been told that ninety five percent of people
can't be left waiting longer than four months for elective surgery.

(02:51):
All right, it's a talk that's coming at them today
which all sounds brilliant. I mean on paper, looks good
on paper, sounds good, sounds promising, but there's no more
money coming to make it happen. That healthman is, to
Shane Ready, sends to think that's not going to be
too much of a problem. Is a bit of what
he had to say to Mike about that a couple

(03:12):
of hours ago.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
But will never be enough. No country has enough in health,
that's the nature of things. But for the objectives that
we have and the task that we have in the
physical constraints that we have, as you've heard the Commissioner say,
there is enough for us to deliver a high quality service.
We would always want to do more. Everyone wants to
do more, but deliver a high quality service. The funding
is the highest funding we've had ever in Health ausering.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh yeah, yeah, So Health New Zealand is going to
have to achieve all these targets with the money it's
already got, which the president of the Nurses union, Kerri
Nuku says, is just setting the system up for failure again.
Here's what she told Ryan Bridge on early edition.

Speaker 4 (03:49):
The government health to target measures process, not outcomes, and
they're centered mainly around waiting this and access and flow
through the system. But if we fail to look at
the reasons for the blockages and the chokish points and
the delays within the systems now, which is workforce and resourcing,
then we're going to fail to execute any ambitious targets.

(04:12):
And that is the problem here. We've had a system
that's being chronically underfunded for years and chronically understaff.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
So it's a bit more of that, he said. She said,
but I'll tell you what, I am much more inclined
to believe the people on the wards, in the operating theaters,
people in the GPS practices, much more inclined to believe
them than I am the government, in fact, much more
inclined to believe them than any government.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
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