Simeon Brown: Health Minister on Health NZ directly employing all first-year trainees

A shake-up to GP trainee employment could make the pathway into general practice more appealing.

Health New Zealand will now directly employ all first-year trainees not already in private practice - with applications opening today for next year.

Currently, doctors must switch to being employed by the College of GPs.

Health Minister Simeon Brown told Ryan Bridge it’s been one of the barriers discouraging doctors from specialising as GPs.

He says they effectively become employees of the college and lose leave balances and other conditions - which is a challenge for recruitment.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fonterra has confirmed that the sale of its consumer groups
to the French is happening. It's now unconditional. All the
regulatory approvals, everything, all that stuff has been stamped. So
good it's being done. You'll remember they said to be
a capital return of two bucks to share to shareholders
and they have now given some dates, so Fonterra can
today advise that it expects the record date to be

(00:21):
eligible for capital return to be the ninth of April.
Payment date fourteen April twenty twenty sixth now that is
based off the transaction being completed at the end of March.
It is thirteen after five changes are coming to boost
the primary healthcare workforce. Health New Zealand will now become
the direct employer for all first year GP trainees. Move

(00:45):
means training doctors can keep their leave, their pay and
their continuity. This is all apparently very important. Simming and
Brown is the Health Minster with us this morning, Minister,
Good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Good morning, Good to have you on the show.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Had any conversations at the weekend about your boss.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Now, we're completely behind Chris luckxin very focused on winning
in November and making sure that New Zealanders are reminded
that the challenges we're facing today are a direct result
of the decisions made by Chris Hipkins and the Labor Party,
and that we need to continue on the plan that
we've got by re electing a national lead government led
by Christopher.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Luxen, Who's we.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
The National Party caucus is in complete resupport of our leader.
You've a focused on winning in November?

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Have you all had a group convo?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Look, ultimately, we are focused on winning in November. The
caucuses behind out our leader, behind our prime minister. How well,
the reality is we accept there are challenges facing New
Zealanders and many of those challenges are a direct result
of the decisions made by the previous government, the focused
on laborsuring we win.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
TWI, I don't want to spend too long on this minister,
because we've got actually, you know, important stuff to talk about.
But I just want to know, how do you know
that the entire caucus backs him?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Well, we're focused on winning in November. We're not focused
on polls come and go. They reality of the only
pole that matters is the one in November, and that's
the one that is where the team focused on winning.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
All Right, Hey, the doctors. What's happening here.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
Well, Health New Zealand has agreed to be the employer
effect effectively to continue being the employer for first year
g PEP doctors, which is the first year of general
practice training. It's been one of the barriers to encouraging
doctors to consider specializing as general practitioners because effectively they

(02:34):
become employees of the Royal College, they lose their leaf
balances and other conditions and that can be a challenge
in terms of recruiting the number of general practitioners that
we need as a country. So the agreements we made
that Health New Zealand will continue employing doctors as they
start their specialization as general practitioners and effectively this has

(02:57):
been something which has been recommended for some time and
it's part of our plan to grow the number of
gps that we have in New Zealand. Which is as
everyone knows an area which is needing significant events, which
we're cost us any more money to do it that way?

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Or are you just rejigging them, not.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Really effectively rejigging what's currently Why.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
Has no one done it then? I mean you said
that it's been on the books for eight it.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Was recommended I think back in twenty twenty two, there
was a report done back then. Ultimately we've got round
and done it. There's been a number of other changes
we've also made to try and encourage further GP specialization.
Another one I announced last year which was that we
would cover the fees for general practitioners for their training

(03:43):
and exams through for the full three years, something that
was done for other specialist special specializations but not for
general practitioners. So effectively, we want to see general practitioners
seen as a key specialty. We want to encourage young doctors,
new doctors to take up under practicing and a practice
is a key specialty. Good. This is another part of that,

(04:05):
another part of that plan stuff.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
He appreciate your time this morning, Minister, Thanks very much
for being with me. Thank you, Siving Brown Health Ministers.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
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