Simeon Brown: Health Minister on construction beginning on new Waikato medical school

Construction will begin this year on a new medical school at Waikato University.

The Government has given it the go ahead - and is providing $83 million dollars towards the project.

Health Minister Simeon Brown says the school will offer a post-graduate degree aimed at other fields, such as nurses or paramedics.

"This is about attracting people from those rural communities working potentially in healthcare or different roles and giving them the opportunity to upskill or become a doctor."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Questions, answers, facts, analysis, The Drive show you trust for
the full picture. Heather Dupas and Drive with One New
Zealand Let's Get Connected News talks.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
At be Good Afternoon. The government has given the green
light to the Why Couple Medical School. The school is
set to have a focus on training GPS and rural doctors.
The government will put in lease money and the university
will put in more money than previously pitched. The Health
Minister is Simeon Brown High.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Simeon, Hello, Hev, how are you?

Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm very well, thank you. Now, this is coming cheaper
than we originally thought. What did you get out to
make it cheaper?

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Well, it's gone through a rigorous business case process with
the university to make sure that we're getting value for
money and that as you go through those processes that's
what you achieve. But also we've now made the decision
based on that business case to press go, and the
university is part of that has agreed to put in
more funding alongside it's philanthropic donor base to support what

(01:02):
is I think a historical day for New Zealand, which
is that we will now have a third medical school
training doctors in this country.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Okay, and have you cut anything out to make it cheaper. No.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Ultimately, this is delivering the same number of doctors per
one hundred and twenty doctors per year from when it opens,
So it's delivering the same number of doctors. It invests
in new clinical teaching space, it delivers the clinical placement
placements across the regional communities that it will serve. And
as I said, a historical day for New Zealand partnering

(01:35):
with the Waikato University and their donors to ensure that
New Zealand has a third medical school which secures medical
training for many years to come in this country.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Was it cheaper to do this or was it cheaper
to increase the number of students at Auckland and Otago
by the same number.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Well, firstly, we're doing both over the course of the government.
We are increasing the number of doctor training places by
one hundred across the University of Auckland and the University
of Otago. It is more cost effective on it in
terms of this is a four year program rather than
a six year program, so there's the cost per student
is less through this program because it's a post graduate

(02:16):
degree rather than a graduate degree. Which is through the
other universities. And fundamentally that's a critical point because this
is about attracting a broader range of people to become GPS.
These are people who could have graduated in another field.
They may be working as a nurse or a paramedic,
want to train an up skill to be a doctor.

(02:37):
This is about attracting people from those rural communities working
and potentially in healthcare and a different role, giving them
the opportunity to upskill become a doctor, train in place,
in place view to those communities where it had to
attract and retain medical professionals. So this is a significant
and historic day for New Zealand and particularly for our

(02:58):
royal communities.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
You I mean us on GPS and rural doctors. Will
it have the ability to train further than that? Can
you go into a speciality like a surgeon.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
Well, that's as doing your degree, that's what this is
about being becoming a doctor. After that, then of course
there are a range of specialties that become available, whether
that's general practice or other specialties. Those pathways will still exist,
but this is about identifying people who wish to train

(03:29):
with that specialty of being a GP of working in
rural health in mind and ultimately encouraging them through the
placements to work in those communities so that we can
retain and attract people into those communities where it is
hard to staff and when it comes to healthcare.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Thanks, Amine appreciate it, so me and Brown Health Minister.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
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