Workforce plan revealed, six 'action areas'

The Government's plan to tackle the healthcare workforce crisis has been unveiled by health minister Ayesha Verrall this morning.

It involved six "action areas", to make early differences and deliver long-term shifts needed for sustainability, she says in the media release announcing the plan.

These include supporting and retaining the workforce, growing pathways for Māori and Pacific communities in health, driving locally-led innovation in training and bolstering priority workforce groups.

Other initiatives announced today include growing training programmes to allow for more intake, 'earn-as-you-learn' programmes, more funding, and return to nursing schemes.

The plan was developed with Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora, in consultation with frontline clinical workforce, professional bodies, unions and government, the minister says.

“Protecting, promoting and improving the health of New Zealanders is only achievable with a strong and well-supported health workforce,” she says.

Initiatives outlined in the plan are:

• Growing rural and interdisciplinary training programmes to enable larger student intakes
• Growing ‘earn-as-you-learn’ programmes across health professions
• Creating 135 new training places a year for allied and scientific professionals, including paramedics, oral health therapists, radiation therapists and pharmacy prescribers and anaesthetic technicians
• Seed funding for new programmes to grow these allied professions
• Sustained investment in Return to Nursing and support for internationally-qualified nurses (IQNs) to get ready to practice in New Zealand
• Launch of a Return to Health project focused on flexible opportunities for those with health qualifications to return to work
• Expanding access to cultural and hardship support for Māori and Pacific students in training to minimise student attrition and grow workforces faster
• Establishing funding for Māori providers to take more students on placement and to offer increased training and development roles

The modelling in the plan "might be confronting to some", Dr Verrall says, but, "I think it is important that Te Whatu Ora is clear on workforce shortages to enable action".

“Today’s plan also signals bigger shifts needed over time to make our health workforce sustainable," she says. "Those are focused on reducing reliance on the global market, growing our own rural health teams and building a workforce representative of communities across New Zealand."