Delighted With The Announcement Of A Third Medical School At Waikato University Focussing On Rural Doctors

Hauora Taiwhenua is excited by the Prime Minister’s long-awaited announcement of the support for a third medical school at Waikato University. It is well known that New Zealand is suffering from an acute shortage of family doctors, and that shortage is the most pronounced in rural areas. Going into the last election, the National Government had promised to fund a proposal from Waikato University that put forward a very different approach to the existing two Medical Schools at Auckland and Otago. The proposal was to offer opportunities to existing graduates and provide a significant part of the training in rural and regional New Zealand. The coalition Government had asked for a detailed business case before continuing that commitment. Cabinet has today given the green light, meaning that the Waikato proposal could show positive financial, as well as medical, outcomes for the country.

Hauora Taiwhenua’s CEO, Dr Grant Davidson, stated, “We are thrilled that the Government has met its election promise to provide a rurally focussed medical training programme in New Zealand. This will complement the excellent training programmes already in operation at Auckland and Otago, while providing a graduate-entry option with strong community immersion. It will give hope to rural general practice that the continuance of a targeted workforce for rural communities is important to this Government.”

The Waikato proposal follows well-proven design principles for rural medical training in both Australia and Canada. Clear research shows that rural-origin students who train in rural areas and are trained by rural health professionals are six times more likely to work in those rural areas post-graduation. While graduates from the Waikato programme will be able to follow any medical specialty, as is the case with graduates from Auckland and Otago, we hope that by having more exposure during the training to general practice, that a higher percentage of graduates will see the benefits of working in the community.

Hauora Taiwhenua notes that a third medical school for the population of New Zealand is not unusual. Based on Australia, we would have between four to five medical schools for New Zealand’s population of over five million people.

This initiative will see an extra 120 doctors trained each year starting in 2028. This will add to the extra 100 medical training placements that the Government has supported into Otago and Auckland’s programmes over its current term, along with the funding of 120 Nurse practitioners and support packages for rural practices to take on graduate nurses.

Last week, representatives of the nine Chapters of Hauora Taiwhenua met with the coalition Government to get an update on progress towards the published Rural Health Strategy. In holding the Government to account, one of the pressing questions was why the commitment to the Waikato proposal was delayed. Minister Brown at the time told the group that a decision was pending. It is pleasing to see that the commitment has now been honoured.

Dr Davidson added that he is encouraged that "Our collective efforts strive to empower our rural communities by ensuring they have access to high-quality healthcare services delivered by professionals who understand and are committed to rural values and needs has been heard."

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