ASMS

The senior doctors’ union says its concerns about the immigration status of pathologists have been acknowledged but the Government’s response falls well short of what is needed. Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway has written to acknowledge the concerns raised about the removal of pathologists from the Government’s Long-Term Skill Shortage List. ASMS concerns have been detailed in letters to the Government and also outlined briefly in an article …

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“Hospital midwives are to be congratulated for successfully negotiating a safer staffing accord – and now it’s the turn of hospital specialists to have a similar agreement with the Government to address the serious workforce issues they’re dealing with,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). He was commenting on news that Health Minister David Clark will host the signing of a staffing accord for midwives (https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/midwifery-workforce-accord-welcomed). ASMS has been trying to secure …

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Phew is the reaction from Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) to the news that the Employment Relations Authority will undertake a ‘facilitation’ of the long-running toxic industrial dispute between the 20 district health boards (DHBs) and the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) representing resident (junior) doctors. Facilitation is a provision in the Employment Relations Act which enables the Employment Relations Authority, on application from an employer or union, to intervene in a collective agreement …

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A focus on workforce in the Health and Disability System Review has been welcomed by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), but it cautions against any unsettling industrial changes. In an interview with The Specialist, the quarterly magazine produced by ASMS, review panel Chair Heather Simpson suggests it might be desirable for Senior Medical Officers (SMOs) to be covered by the same employment agreements as their junior colleagues, Resident Medical Officers (RMOs). At present the two groups have separate …

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Our condolences to all ASMS members who lost family members, friends and colleagues in the act of terrorism in Christchurch on 15 March 2019, and our admiration and support for all who worked under extreme pressure during this terrible time. Kia kaha.

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Stress, fatigue, and overwork are taking a toll on New Zealand’s public hospital specialists and District Health Boards need to do much more to support them, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) Executive Director Ian Powell says. Research conducted by ASMS in 2016 revealed a 50% burnout rate among senior doctors employed by DHBs.  In response to the lack of concerted action by health bosses to address this crisis, ASMS has developed a practical and collaborative framework to address these …

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The Mental Health and Addiction inquiry report has laudable aims but lacks detail about implementation and side-lines those who work in the sector, says Lyndon Keene, Director of Policy and Research at the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) Published in ASMS magazine The Specialist on page 17-18, Mr Keene’s analysis of the report can be read here: https://www.asms.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-Specialist-Issue-118.pdf Mr Keene takes issue with the inquiry panel’s decision to be (in the panel’s words) “guided by the needs of …

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Acute hospital admissions are increasing well above the population growth rate despite increased use of general practice (GP) services, says Lyndon Keene, Director of Policy and Research for the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). This is one of the findings of an ASMS Research Brief looking at whether access to primary care, with a greater focus on health promotion and illness prevention, reduces pressure on hospitals, available online at: https://www.asms.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Research-Brief-on-primary-prevention_170857.2.pdf “Evidence from New Zealand and overseas shows this …

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ASMS is saddened to report that one of our members, Dr Amjad Hamid, died in Friday’s mass shooting in Christchurch. Stuff website reports that Amjad Hamid, 57, was an SMO and rural hospital consultant at Hawera Hospital. Prior to that he was a senior doctor with a special interest in cardiology, and worked for Canterbury DHB and as a locum at other DHBs around the country. He lived in Christchurch with his wife and family but travelled to Hawera for …

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The senior doctors’ union says departing Waikato District Health Board interim chief Derek Wright provided much-needed stability in the wake of the Nigel Murray scandal. “The DHB desperately needed a steady pair of hands at the helm after former Chief Executive Nigel Murray left in disgrace,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). “Staff were unsettled and morale was very low. Derek Wright’s job was to stabilise the ship so the DHB could get …

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