DHB’s Holding Aged Residential Care to Ransom

26 MAY 2006

DHB’s Holding Aged Residential Care to Ransom

District Health Boards are holding providers of elderly care to ransom over the recent nurses award agreement, HealthCare Providers New Zealand said today.

“Despite the aged care sector receiving significant funding increases in this year’s Budget to improve the care available to elderly New Zealanders, DHBs are refusing to pass this onto providers until we stop quantifying the cost of the nurses award on private sector nurses,” says HealthCare Providers Chief Executive Martin Taylor.

“There are major impacts from the recent nurses award, from minimum wage proposals and from the Holiday’s Act. Providers of elderly care have a right under the contract with DHBs to quantify and research these impacts,” he said.

“But the DHBs are saying, ‘don’t do that, just accept these and we’ll pass on your funding. In other words, give up your legal rights under the contract or they won’t pass on the Budget increase.”

“It’s totally unacceptable to be held to ransom. These obligations are designed to protect providers from events that affect their future viability. It’s extremely important that these impacts are properly assessed to ensure that care to our elderly is kept at a high standard.”

The Government has provided a funding increase of 3.1 percent for rest homes and 5.9 percent for hospital care.

Mr Taylor said DHBs confirmed that the idea of the ultimatum only came about after they found out how much was in the Budget as this gave them unexpected leverage to get out of their legal obligations under the contract.

“This is a very cynical move by DHBs. Despite a contractual obligation to act in good faith they have decided to bully the sector into a settlement through ultimatums. That is not acting in good faith.”

“DHBs allege that the Minister has condoned this action. We don’t believe that the Government does not want research into the impact on private sector nurses of the $500 million paid to DHB nurses through the nurses award, or research into the impact of its regulatory and legislative changes.”

ENDS

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