VBS changes not focussed on rural workforce needs

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE
May 7, 2013

VBS changes not focussed on rural workforce needs

While a recent review of the Voluntary Bonding Scheme has been welcomed by the New Zealand Rural General Practice Network there are still glaring gaps in its outcomes to be addressed, says Network chairman Dr Jo Scott-Jones.

“Namely, there is not enough emphasis on the placement of young GPs or primary care nurses into rural areas,” he says.

Dr Scott Jones says the Bay of Plenty DHB is a good example – areas like Te Kaha, Opotiki, and Murupara are lumped in with Tauranga and GPs wanting to train in those hard to staff rural areas do not have access to the VBS support, and therefore there is little incentive to young GPs to train or work in those areas.

“We had high hopes that the review of the VBS would have resulted in it becoming an effective part of encouraging young professionals into rural practice, both in medicine and nursing.”

Given the continued focus of the VBS on large DHB areas, which include urban centres such as Rotorua, Napier, Hastings, Gisborne, New Plymouth and Palmerston North it is unlikely that the VBS will have any significant effect on rural general practice, says Dr Scott-Jones.

“It is extremely disappointing to note that despite repeated requests for primary care nursing to be added to the list of hard to staff nursing specialties that this remains unsupported.

“Whilst the NZRGPN would encourage young professionals to look seriously at the VBS, it is unlikely that a revamped scheme will help address the shortage of GPs in rural New Zealand, and it clearly has no impact on rural nursing.”

Introduced in 2008, the VBS is a Government-driven payment scheme to reward medical, midwifery and nursing graduates who agree to work in hard-to-staff communities and/or specialties and medical physicist and radiation therapist graduates who remain in New Zealand after their university studies.

ENDS

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