Outsourcing is increasingly a concern for our members in procedural specialties. Thank you to everyone who completed our recent survey about this challenge.
Thank you to all our members who responded to our survey earlier this year about the impact of the effect of care moving out of the public sector. Your feedback is invaluable, enabling us to better understand what is happening across the motu and how this has impacted you and your training.
They key takeaways from our membership which we will be sharing with key stakeholders are:
Outsourcing is impacting training opportunities; Cases suitable for training are being outsourced with minimal opportunities to attend these procedures.
Outplacing is having mixed impacts on training; For some outplacing is working better than lists in public, for others rostering / staffing issues mean they are not able to attend these lists.
Districts do not have plans in place to address impacts on training; In most cases where training has been impacted by outsourcing or outplacing Districts, do not have plans in place to address the impact.
179 members responded to the survey, that is 9% of our membership. There were responses from across all positions, most districts (16/20), and 29/43 specialties.
Since the survey, results have been shared with Te Whatu Ora, with Rob Campbell (previous board Chair) and Margie Apa when they attended the February STONZ Executive meeting to discuss the issues raised. It was a productive and collegial discussion with both Rob and Margie expressing their support of, and thanks to the RMO workforce. They advised that they are committed to resolving the issues raised, with conversations underway regarding public / private partnerships that would better support RMO training in the mid-long term. They also understand the relevance that having a fully staffed allied workforce plays, in facilitating doctor training.
However, despite that, it doesn’t solve what is happening now, and the impact it is having on the training of today’s future specialists. Our team have engaged with the team leading the Hospital and Specialist services and have asked for further meetings to see what can be done now. We also have a meeting scheduled later this month with the new Health Minister and this is high on the list of priorities to discuss.