DHBs need to stop distorting the facts – ASMS

Media release

DHBs need to stop distorting the facts – ASMS

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is calling on DHBs to stop making excuses and to front up to the real issue of a health workforce in crisis.

The call comes during the unprecedented move by senior doctors around the country to hold stopwork meetings. The action follows an impasse between DHBs and senior doctors after year long negotiations.

Executive Director Ian Powell says hospitals are facing a serious crisis due to a chronic shortage of senior doctors, with many leaving to private practice or overseas for better working conditions and remuneration. An ASMS survey revealed that New Zealand lost 80 senior doctors to Australia over an 18 month period.

“The DHB is showing its true colours by claiming that ASMS is using the loss of vital medical professionals to strengthen its case to get increased salaries. It stinks of playing the player, rather than the ball.

“The shortage of senior doctors is a global problem and that’s why it is vital New Zealand is seen to compete. Unless the DHB recognises that it needs to do more to retain and recruit senior doctors, the safety of patients will be compromised.”

Ian Powell says the survey is an accurate representation of the situation, and is based on an email survey generating information from ASMS members.

“It is extremely disappointing that DHBs lead negotiator Nigel Murray is questioning the survey, when all of the responses were verified by name. In effect he is calling senior doctors liars.”

He says the DHBs have also been misleading as to what ASMS is seeking. Senior doctors have asked for around a 10% increase to base salary over two years. Added steps and an increase in remuneration for after hours call could take that up to 13% or 14% for some doctors.

“Senior doctors would not be taking action unless they felt that the public safety of New Zealanders was being seriously compromised. The misperception currently being painted by the DHB advocate is doing nothing to end the damage being caused to the health sector – it is time for him to stop the distortion.

“Dr Murray is saying the pay claim cannot be justified – clearly then giving DHB chief executives a pay rise of $48,000 over three years shouldn’t have been justified either. It seems there are two sets of rules here.”

Ian Powell says it is ridiculous for Dr Murray to claim DHBs can not afford to pay what is being asked, when they are paying through the nose for locum doctors to address the shortage The DHBs are prepared to pay the doctors’ claim if someone else (an arbitrator) tells them to so it is clear they can afford it.

“DHBs have a major dependency on locums or temporary doctors due to the chronic shortage of permanent doctors. Locums can cost up to three times the cost of permanent doctors – the longer these negotiations go unsettled the higher the dependency and the higher the cost.”

Meanwhile, senior doctors from the Waikato DHB met this morning in the 13th stopwork meeting of 26.

ENDS

© Scoop Media