Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

Retrieved on:

Monday, May 15, 2023

But while it is acknowledged New Zealand has under-invested in health infrastructure, more damaging has been the under-investment in people.

Key Points:

But while it is acknowledged New Zealand has under-invested in health infrastructure, more damaging has been the under-investment in people.
This lack of planning for the future health workforce is directly responsible for the staffing shortages now being experienced.
Ideally this would include a budget that invests in training more – and more diverse – New Zealand doctors.

We know the demand for more doctors is relentless – fuelled by a growing and ageing population.
At the same time, we have an ageing medical workforce, with many doctors planning to retire in the next decade.
To sustain this modest growth each year, we will need to increase the total medical workforce by 590 annually.
Last year, 1,232 IMGs were registered to practice here, reflecting the high demand for doctors not being met through local training and retention.

There are particular problems in the less wealthy regions, and in particular specialities such as general practice.
GPs are the backbone of the health system, with 90% of health consultations occurring in primary care.
Yet while we have increased the number of doctors by 5,000 over the past ten years, the number of GPs has only increased by 260.

In both countries, research showed doctors tended to stay and work in the area where they trained.
The new medical schools are located in regions with high needs and recruitment difficulties.
This should be just the start, with ongoing commitments to increase student numbers in line with the growing medical workforce.