“New Zealand’s public hospital managers and medical staff have every reason to be angry with this government and the minister Annette King over the misrepresentation of available funding” says Ken Shirley, ACT New Zealand’s Health Spokesman.

“The inescapable fact is that this years budget provides the lowest percentage increase in government health funding for 7 years with a 4.5% increase compared with an average annual increase of almost 8% over the previous 7 budgets.”
“In Opposition Annette King raised expectations of improved pay for health professionals. In government she has failed to deliver the resource and is squeezing the HHS’s and trying to blame them for her failings. The Minister is telling the Doctors that the money is available when the hospitals know its not.
“The Minister should come clean and tell the health professionals the truth about the funding, to assuage their expectations. She is making matters worse by leading Doctors to believe that the hospitals have the money for high settlements.

“The HHS’s have no scope to meet the pay demands of the young doctors and nurses from this year’s allocations which also provide a decrease in funds available for capital expenditure.
“Her rhetoric of blaming the previous government does not wash when she and her Cabinet colleagues are responsible for this funding shortage” concluded Ken Shirley.

ENDS

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