Meet Dr. Christopher Luxon
He and fellow 'medical experts' Mike Hoskings, and Simeon Brown with a scalpel, are here to solve alll your health system problems
Last week, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Mike Hoskings that nurses could easily replace general practitioners (GPs) - a move condemned by General Practitioners Aotearoa (GPA).
Chair, Dr Burrell:
“First of all, no other profession would tolerate this language.
“I’m pretty sure I could steer a truck down the road, but I do not hold a truck driver’s licence, and I should absolutely never be trusted to fill spaces if there were a truck driver shortage.
“There is a GP shortage, and the only solution is more GPs.”…
“As GPs get rarer in clinics, more scary diagnoses are going to be missed, and more people will suffer.”
GPA also criticized Luxon’s ongoing misinformation problem:
Luxon said “It’s not a money problem” and blamed Health New Zealand bureaucracy for wastage in the health system.
GP clinics mostly sit outside of Health New Zealand, and are underfunded…
“There is clear evidence that increasing funding to the primary sector increases health system efficiency and enormously reduces overall cost.”
Luxon’s comments show his lack of understanding of how the primary care sector works.
Nurses - who are already understaffed and have been pushing for equitable pay and a safe staffing model - also hit back:
"Evidence continually shows a team based approach creates the best health outcomes in primary care.
That means integrating health care workers based on their professional skills and experience…
"The nursing workforce can’t be stabilised and the much needed team approach developed with a high turnover of primary health care staff.
Now all of this didn’t deter Doctor Luxon (BS) though.
This morning on Newtalk ZB with his friendly medical industry expert Mike Hoskings (AC), Luxon boasted about converting ‘at least 100 Uber drivers’ into fully qualified NZ doctors.
That came as the government went into predictable damage control after a detailed PSA Health report showed over 80% of health staff feel the government is damaging New Zealand’s health system.
In addition to funding 100 extra placements for overseas doctors, Luxon and Simeon Brown are also apparently going to drive innovation into our health sector so Kiwis can “get a prescription” with your “sick kid at 11:30 at night”.
Mike Hoskings opined that this seemed ordinary but good -
“Now why we couldn’t have done this 10 years ago?”
Hoskings said with the confidence level of someone who has zero understanding of what that means - and therefore misses its complexity.
How about medical reasons Mr Hoskings, or simple Health priorities?
A 2024 UK study found online consultations with GP surgeries frequently involve risks to patients’ safety and have led to sometimes serious harm and even death.
As General Practitioners Aotearoa noted, diagnosis is a significant responsibility requiring appropriate expertise and care.
In addition - why is the government ignoring doctors’ desperate pleas for proper resourcing and staff while boasting about technology prescriptions during the night?
How about just managing the “soaring” wait lists, which are continuing to grow - even as you keep people off them, Dr Luxon?
How about looking at the up to 30% vacancy rates in mental health and the 120 missing mental health doctors in New Zealand?
How about just fulfilling your promise to Aimee-Rose Yates, a brave and terminally ill bowel cancer Kiwi -as you promised her and us in 2023?
As you were told, Dr Luxon, "There is money".
And the financials are behind you.
"Bowel cancer screening is a $30 test that prevents an $80,000 deadly cancer... The financial logic of bowel screening is absolutely bullet proof."
Doctor burn out is also very real.
In the NHS, long defunded by the UK Tories, 1 in 3 doctors are so tired their ability to treat patients is detrimentally impacted.
As a writer cum researcher who has spent too many long nights and days on politics to try to spread awareness, I can see the impacts in me - let alone in such a crucial, life impacting profession.
Is it wonder that we have seen Kiw cardiologists resign from public health over the last year, citing “la-la-land” health management?
It’s time to get serious - yet we have one of the most unserious and unqualified, yet over confident, governments in recent history.
$33 million on Health NZ redundancies as “immeasurable pain” of Health slash and burn continues
Despite denying for months that it budget cuts would hurt frontline delivery, the results are “immeasurable pain” across our system.
Nurses and social workers are now working as receptionists. Doctors told to clean sinks and make beds. Psychiatrists are cutting appointment times in half to devote to adminstrative work. Mental health has 30% vacancy rates in some regions.
81% of healthcare workers say cuts have damaged health services and 86% say cuts will make it harder for Kiwis to get healthcare.
Stark signals continue to be ignored. No on-site doctors overnight in some hospitals. Bowel cancer screening promises ignored. Surveillance colonoscopies paused. Palliative care reform and availability at risk. Private retirement villages signalling rejection of public health referrals. In pain patients rejected from joining wait lists.
While all health systems suffer from imperfections and strain - especially through years of underinvestment - the difference here is an intentional underfunding of health services taking us backwards.
In real per capita terms the amount of day-to-day spend per person on health under Luxon’s National was reduced by 3 per cent to $4686 per person: $143 per person less in real terms.
…While also cutting critical social services.
…And ignoring mental health.
Last month the government raided a $10m frontline mental health fund while ignoring 650 vacant mental health professionals and 130 doctor shortages.
National also broke their election promise to fund 13 pyschiatry registrars and froze mental health hires.
We are being told family violence and mental health will get worse.
But it’s all falling on deaf ears - like shouting into an endless bottomless pit..
“$33 million [of redundancy payments] is a lot that could be spent better on other health services that New Zealanders could could have.”
Dr Ayesha Verrall, Labour Health Spokesperson
Quick Facts and Figures on Health NZ Cuts So Far
Since taking office, to early last month, the government has announced significant cuts in health:
47% of roles in data and digital staff as Health NZ moved to a "fail early, fail often, succeed over time" philosophy on medical data and digital ~1100 staff
Note half of hospitals’ critical IT hardware is out of date
24% of public health service position - including in palliative care ~358 staff
Back office freezes that have resulted in doctors cleaning sinks and making beds
In October 2024, 450 frontline and essential support roles took the government’s offer of voluntary redudancy, with 800 signalling interest - more likely to come.
Including the prior round of retrenchments, unions estimate that comes to around 3500 health roles disestablished by National
Frontline recruitment, including for vacant roles, have been blocked in mental health, oncology, and many otherr hospital specialisations
Some have been eliminated, others left vacant for months
Frontline support roles cut in Auckland - directly impacting frontline capacity
As one doctor noted last year:
"I've learned from managers that Health New Zealand now has regional hiring committees that are only permitted to advertise a certain quota of jobs per week, and any clinical job - doctor, nurse, allied health worker professional - that doesn't make that quota, is not permitted to be recruited into.
So effectively there is a clinical hiring freeze."
Simeon Brown is unfazed.
They will be looking to privatisation to fix their metrics and headlines for the next election.
A cynical and undeserving treatment of an important life saving topic.
Love all your work Mountain Tui, some of the best I have read. Keep up the hard mahi - without your work I would truly feel lost. Thank you for the ‘light’ in my day.
More stunning policy moves from this genius government - sack half the health IT staff then expand video health calls. I suppose it will be necessary to employ IT consultants to build and maintain this expanded video health call system.