ASMS

The Ministry of Health has been called in to help the Southern District Health Board develop a financial recovery plan, as its annual deficit soars towards $26million. Yesterday, the ministry finally released monthly updates on financial performance for DHBs, which were halted at the end of June last year. They show almost all 20 DHBs are expecting to end the current financial year in the red. The potential budgeted deficit for all DHBs is about $346million. Health Minister David Clark …

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Health Minister David Clark says District Health Boards are on notice to improve their financial performance and demonstrate they have a plan to return to financial sustainability. The Ministry of Health has today released monthly financial reports which show almost all DHBs are expecting to end the current financial year in the red, with a potential budgeted year-end deficit for all DHBs of around $346 million. David Clark says the forecasts are disappointing, but not altogether unexpected. “Our public health …

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Health Minister David Clark has been accused of interfering in agreements between DHBs and their staff. All non-urgent surgeries scheduled at Lakes DHB facilities that require general anaesthetic will be postponed or cancelled this week, as Rotorua anaesthetic technicians strike for five days in a fight for better pay and working conditions. APEX union advocate Luke Coxon says they aren’t asking for much. “There’s only $25,000 difference between the union’s proposal and the DHB’s… that’s the total cost. That’s not …

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District health boards are accusing the junior doctors’ union of making misleading and or deceptive statements in their deepening pay row. The doctors are taking ongoing strike action at public hospitals in a bitter row over proposed changes to their employment contract. DHBs say inaccurate union statements are fueling the dispute, and it’s calling for urgent intervention from the Employment Relations Authority. RNZ health correspondent, Karen Brown. Listen here: https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018682931/dhbs-accuse-junior-doctors-union-of-misleading-claims David Munro from the Resident Doctors Association responds: https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018682944/dhbs-involve-employment-relations-authority-in-pay-dispute

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Young female doctors in Victoria are dropping out of their training because medicine’s notoriously toxic culture of abuse and exploitation may have worsened in recent years. This is the position of Victoria’s peak medical lobby group, which has called on the state government to launch a review into gender discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at public hospitals. The Australian medical fraternity has a long history of discriminatory treatment of women, highlighted by successive scandals. But Australian Medical Association Victoria president …

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Doctors are demanding public and private hospitals submit to an independent audit of trainee doctor work hours, as fresh claims of junior doctor exploitation continue to emerge. The case of Dr Yumiko Kadota – who was hospitalised for sleep deprivation after working up to 24 consecutive days on-call at Bankstown Hospital – ignited outrage among senior and trainee clinicians across Australia. On closed social media sites for doctors, and through intermediaries, junior doctors have described working beyond exhaustion, …

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The senior doctors’ union welcomes the election of Dr Curtis Walker as the Medical Council’s new chair. The Medical Council of New Zealand announced yesterday that Dr Walker, a renal and general physician at MidCentral District Health Board, is to take over the role from Auckland surgeon Andrew Connolly (https://www.mcnz.org.nz/news-and-publications/media-releases/dr-curtis-walker-elected-medical-council-chairperson/). Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), thanked Mr Connolly for his leadership of the Medical Council. “His dedication to the medical profession coupled …

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Junior doctors are on strike again this morning for two days as tension mounts in public hospitals from strikes. The strike from 8am Tuesday until early Thursday is the third such strike by the doctors since mid January. The doctors are also planning a fourth two-day strike in two weeks’ time. Health correspondent Karen Brown talks through the details with Guyon Espiner. Listen here: https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018682093/junior-doctors-strike-as-dispute-continues Senior doctors at Palmerston North Hospital say they are tired and frustrated by the strikes …

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When Health Minister David Clark was publicly criticised for dropping a requirement on his health ministry to publish the results of a set of narrow and misleading health targets in public hospitals, I defended him. The Minister’s decision to drop this reporting showed a willingness to engage in a more thoughtful and effective fashion with his portfolio, which included exploring more robust alternatives. Politically-driven targets cause potentially dangerous unintended consequences, especially in an environment of sustained underfunding. They are highly …

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The government has announced it will ban smoking in cars carrying children under 18 years of age. Vaping will also be included in the ban and will apply to moving and parked vehicles. Under the new rules, police will be able to use their discretion to give warnings, refer people to anti-smoking support services, or issue an infringement fee of $50. Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa said too many children, especially Māori and Pasifika, were exposed to second-hand smoke in …

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