2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget deficit that happened on his watch

When will the old trick of blaming Labour end, against all odds and all facts?

Long Read

Key Summary:

Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, but they ignored that. This is likely to have resulted in a significantly underfunded health budget. In this regard, they have form. Simeon Brown’s pre-election road budget is estimated to be out by 100% according to Waka Kotahi.

And it has been clear since at least April, that the Government has been telling Health NZ to cut costs dramatically - hospitals were asked to cut over a hundred million and to freeze hires, stop hiring local graduate nurses, cut staff, and cancel / defer technology, and investment projects.

Health NZ’s Board had already mostly resigned and left, leaving only two, as I started reporting on last week. It was embarrassing for the Government. Reti di…