Sarah Dalton: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director on Health NZ's $934 million deficit

Health New Zealand is expecting its financial deficit for the past financial year to be near a billion dollars.  

The agency's released its report for the June quarter.  

Earlier in quarter three, a $299 million surplus was forecast - but the preliminary financial result for the year to the end of June is a $934 million deficit. 

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Sarah Dalton told Ryan Bridge services and departments are going to be dealing with significant cuts.  

She says some of it will impact staffing levels, and some the ability to implement digital solutions that'll make staff and systems more efficient. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Health New Zealand's financial position remains on what would you
call it life support quarterly performance report out yesterday. It
showed the financial performance declined significantly in the three months
to June this year, a one billion dollar deficit for
the last financial year. The slump came after a two
hundred and ninety nine million dollar forecasted surplus in the

(00:21):
previous quarter. What's going on here? Sarah Dalton is the
Association of Salaried Medical Specialist Executive Director. Sarah good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Good morning, Ryan, How are you very well?

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Thank you, Nice to have you on the show. This
is interesting because it says staffing costs are up. There
are some one off impairments, but staffing costs are up,
there's outsourcing going on, and yet we're actually starting to
meet some of these targets.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, it's kind of a mixed bag. I think it's
also really important to note that more than five hundred
million of that deficit is money that should be in
there to deal with pay equity settlements that hasn't been
passed across by CADNET and so, you know, it's a
little bit of not quite what it seems in there,

(01:10):
do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (01:11):
But trickery.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, yeah, that must be really frustrating for the for
the director. It's all of whom have been told they
have to make significant cuts to their costs over the
next financial year to try and deal with you know,
this problem, this ongoing problem they have balancing their books.
You know, they're still struggling to deal with holidays discrepancies

(01:35):
that has been going on for years, and the payroll
systems are so problematic that it is taking a very
long time to sort that stuff out. And all of
there's really you know, secondary to the points you raise
about actually delivering health care to people who need it.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
I understand that, but I mean, is this not more proof?
Does this not strengthen the case for for more cuts?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Well, watch what happens because listening to what we were
told Marzida meeting with the health unions and to start
to order just this week where we had presentations from
Public Health Services, Mariine, Pacific Health Services, Data and digital
strategy and innovation, they're all going to be dealing with
significant cuts. Some of that's going to impact staffing levels,

(02:23):
some of that's going to impact things like the ability
to roll out digital solutions that will make systems and
staff more efficient. It will make it easier for them
to do their jobs, easier to see people quickly. Radiology
and pathology services, which are the things that patients don't
often think about, but they are really critical to forming
diagnoses and setting out treatment pathways. They have heavy reliance

(02:47):
on data and digital and that's not functioning effectively for them.
That is going to make inefficiencies and costs down the line.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
So a lot of some troubled waters ahead. But on
the face of it, these measures, the metrics and non
financial stuff, you know, the things seem to be it's
tiny fractions, but it seems to be improving. If you
look at cancer wait times, emergency department surgeries, etc. Etc.
Most of those measures seem to be improved slightly, which

(03:19):
I mean that must be a good thing.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
I don't think the improvements. I'm sorry, I'm going to
ruin your tea party, but I don't think the improvements
are significant enough for us to take particular comfort. And
also what our members tell us and our senior doctors
indentists out there on the front line and hospitals that
are are still significant staff and gaps, particularly medicals. So
we're seeing lots of junior doctor gaps, which means a

(03:45):
lot of the senior doctors our members are having to
cover their work as well as their own. It's not
an efficient way to run our hospitals, and a lot
of our hospitals are still running out one hundred percent plus.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
So Sarah, you're taking that boastful, bashful press release from
the minister yesterday and you're ripping it right up, aren't you.
That's what you're doing.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Thank you. I was in we Sport over the weekend,
you know, with a quarter of the population who are
protesting about proposed cup for Health eccess know and look
at the need and New Zealanders qure deeply about access
to health and.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
We need better, all right, Sarah, thanks for your time
this morning nights to have you on the show. Sara
Adults in Association of Salaried Medical Specialist Executive Director. For
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