Bonding
It was great to have the Health Minister Tony Ryall in the electorate again this week, opening new elderly care beds at Sevenoaks Retirement Village in Paraparaumu.
Caring for older people is a hugely demanding job and will become even more important as our population ages.
Another big health issue facing New Zealand is attracting enough trained professionals, especially to provincial areas.
Doctors, nurses and midwives are in big demand around the world. A recent newspaper article revealed that some young doctors are getting paid as much as $6000 for a weekend’s work in Australia.
This is why the government has introduced a voluntary bonding scheme for young medical professionals, including GPs, nurses and midwives. Up to $10,000 is on offer for those willing to commit to a hard-to-staff region in New Zealand for three to five years.
Around the country it has been an outstanding success. Last year 900 signed up for the scheme and this year 500 graduates were accepted, a lot more than budgeted for, but the government decided to take them all on.
Once medical graduates have completed their maximum of two years at a base hospital such as Palmerston North, they must move into a “hard-to-staff” specialty such as general practice. This helps us retain graduates and will be good for regional areas such as Horowhenua and Kapiti.
Of course, money is not the only answer. Medical staff need to feel they are valued, and to receive good training and career advice. Programmes to improve this are already underway.
Last week I welcomed six new government-funded paramedics into Foxton and Otaki, which will make a huge difference for St Johns Ambulance.
It also compliments the good work Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics are doing, treating people in their homes around Kapiti. The pilot programme is hugely successful and is now offered 24/7.
As you can see there’s plenty of exciting initiatives happening in health.