The Ministry of Health has opened consultation today on health workforce regulation.
Minister of Health, Simeon Brown said the Government was reviewing New Zealand’s health workforce regulation to ensure the focus is on putting patients first.
“New Zealand’s current health workforce regulations can be overly bureaucratic, and this is slowing down access to care, increasing costs, and making it harder for patients to get the services they need,” said Mr Brown.
“Our regulations can also make it harder to attract, train and retain healthcare workers. Whether it’s requiring nursing students to complete hundreds more clinical hours than those in Australia, complicated approval pathways for overseas qualified doctors to practice in NZ, or imposing rules that prioritise cultural requirements over clinical safety in scopes of practices, our healthcare system is being held back by outdated and unnecessary barriers.
“We also need to better recognise overseas qualifications to speed up access to healthcare for patients. As part of the National-ACT Coalition agreement, we are also considering the establishment of an Occupations Tribunal which would consider appeals about decisions relating to overseas qualifications.
“Patients expect to receive care from qualified practitioners, with clinical safety as their top priority. Our proposals will also ensure that patients voices are heard in regulatory decision making, to ensure the needs of patients are considered when decisions are being made by regulatory bodies.
“We are also seeking feedback on how regulatory decisions can be made across all 18 health workforce regulatory bodies to ensure greater consistency. A streamlined system means more frontline staff available to provide care across the country, delivering shorter wait times and better health outcomes for all New Zealanders,” he said.
As part of this review, the Ministry of Health has published a discussion document, Putting Patients First: Modernising health workforce regulation.
The Ministry is now inviting New Zealanders to share their views on health workforce regulation through its online consultation port. The consultation will close on Wednesday 30 April.
Feedback on the options outlined in the discussion document will inform the Ministry’s advice to the Government on possible changes to health workforce regulation.
