Quick changes to health sector immigration settings unlikely

A leaked briefing urged that 30 health jobs be added to the green list. Andrew Little says he’s doing everything he can while Michael Wood suggests a review of green list is unlikely before May 2023, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday morning, sign up here.

Ministry “strongly” advises 30 health jobs be added to green list

The Act party publicised leaked ministry advice yesterday that urged health minister Andrew Little to immediately work on putting 30 health jobs on the immigration green list. In the briefing, Ministry of Health deputy director-general of strategy, policy and legislation Maree Roberts “strongly” advised the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to review its green list immediately, instead of May 2023 as planned. Immigration minister Michael Wood suggested it was unlikely the review of the green list would be brought forward, but hinted some changes might be made before then. Little says he believes everything that could be done, was being done.

Health sector vacancies have doubled

As Stuff’s Bridie Witton reports, workforce shortages are rife across the entire sector with the number of vacant roles doubling to a figure that would total about 9,000 doctors, nurses and other workers. An in-patient mental health unit at Christchurch’s Hillmorton Hospital may be closed because it has half the staff it needs. It’s estimated the country is short 500 mental health nurses, while a nurse at North Shore hospital told RNZ this week that stress levels were so bad, it was not unusual for a nurse to be in tears at work.

Tensions rising between Little and GPs over Covid funding and care

BusinessDesk’s Cécile Meier and Murray Jones report on rising tensions between Little and GPs. BusinessDesk asked Little if he was confident that primary care was funded enough. He pointed to the extra $490m GPs received for the pandemic response and then said all he got when he got Covid was two text messages. “The funding we provided was way more than the cost of two text messages,” he said. GPs have called those comments “inappropriate” and “disingenuous”. If we’re trading anecdotes, I got a call at 7pm from my GP and multiple assurances to call her on her mobile anytime over the weekend when I got Covid.

Pressure on the health sector delays Covid prevalance surveys

Strain on the health system during the last wave of Covid and the sector reforms are why prevalance surveys for Covid are being delayed until next year. In August, Covid modeller Dr Dion O’Neale said prevalence surveys were one of the best ways to get an estimate of the true number of infections in a community. This morning, Charlotte Muru-Lanning has the current advice and thinking on eligibility criteria for the second Covid booster. One immunologist said “anyone under 50, who was boosted such a long time ago, and has not been infected, is absolutely a sitting duck right now if they get exposed”. Modelling released yesterday shows daily cases could rise to 11,000 cases a day. Hospitalisations could peak at about 100 admissions a day.