Dr Richard Sullivan: Health New Zealand Chief Clinical Officer on spending increase of $85 million on contractors and consultants

Contractor and consultant spending at Health New Zealand has increased – by $85 million in the financial year to June. 

The increase comes despite a government directive to cut back. 

Health New Zealand’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Richard Sullivan tells Mike Hosking the bulk of the spending increase covers vacancies and gaps in rosters, with focus on delivering clinical care to communities. 

“We would prefer to have permanent staff [...] but it is the reality of the market at the moment.” 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More insight into our health spending. Contractor and consultant work
has gone up. We have an extra eighty five million
dollars spend of the past financial year to June. That's
despite the government directive, of course to cut back Health
New Zealand Chief Clinical Officer, doctor Richard Sullivan's with us Richard,
very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Line is eighty five million something to hanging And I
suppose it's a lot of money for most of us,
but when you're dealing with a thirty billion dollar behemoth,
there's eighty five million something to raise the eyebrows, Like.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
I think there was obviously used for the spend days
is textpayers money. But the reality behind it eighty five
million is that the bulk of that is actually in
our chronical workforce trying to cover our rosters and the vacancies.
So they're real focused sometimes a clinical care to our communities.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
So when we talk about consultants we think the worst.
So these are people who are actually doing real work,
needed real work, and it.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Is what it is. Yeah, I've got sort of break
down and as you say, contact is a consultant, so
that the contractors, that's really the people doing the real work.
For eighty five percent of that spends on people doing
the real work. Consultants. You know, we do need specialist
advice p particular areas, and so we have a spend

(01:12):
on that. On that spend actually dropped by fifty percent
in the last quarter, so we better really focus on
trying to wind that back while facting on little in
clinical frontlines.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Here would you argue you are saving money to the
extent that under a specific line item like contractors and consultants,
the cost is up, but if you employed people full time,
you'd find that it was even more expensible. We can't
say that.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Now. We can't say that, Mike. It's a great question
and act. We would prefer to have more per staff.
It's a great challenging space, particularly with our senior medical doctors.
With international I'm sure to deboss the play. So we
would prefer to have business staff. Areas like rural medicine
societry to net. You know, we would prefer that to

(01:56):
bring a people permanently, and that made Vale save those
in the long too. But that is the reality of
that mat And.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
When you say at the moment, will you ever solve
things like rural medicine or mental health or any of
those long term, ongoing challenges.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
That's a great question as well. I'm not sure we
ever solve it. But you know, like all things, you
put real focus, you look at different models, the way
to live, the services, different workforces. So I think we
can improve our mental health services, our rural medicine services
by just putting out real focus on that area. But

(02:32):
as you say, well it save a lot of money.
It's hard to know, but we would prefer people the afflicts.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Are you across what Lester Levy is doing? Are you
at that end of the spectrum? And as chief clinical
officer in the sense when I ask the very broad
question is he saving money? And are we heading in
the right direction? You can give me an answer or not.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
So you very much hum across in fact at long
chat with yesterday. So we keep in touch verically and
that folks are sol and clinical workforce improving a clinical
care safety and I guess that real drive around XSA
to really sure that actalmutes can get better access. And yes,

(03:11):
there's a definite pocus on trying to make this financially sustainable,
looking at opportunities you know where we can try and
produce some of those stenses.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
All right, appreciate your time. Richard Richards Sullivan, doctor Richards Sulivan,
who's the Health of New Zealand chief Clinical opposite.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio