Some roles in Wellington hospitals are taking six months to fill. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
Hospitals in the Wellington region are waiting up to six months for Health NZ to give them approval to even begin recruitment for front-line roles.
Data obtained by the Public Service Association under the Official Information Act (for March to May) shows 219 recruitment requests took more than two months to be approved, 91 waited more than 20 weeks, and 45 roles applied for in March were still vacant last month.
In some cases, it took up to 30 weeks for management to approve a hiring process for critical positions, including medical imaging technologists who operate x-ray, CT and MRI equipment.
PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the Wellington data was a "disturbing snapshot" of the nationwide health workforce crisis.
"These figures show that delays in recruitment are a deliberate cost-saving tactic, driven by the government's failure to fund the health system properly.
"There should be no barriers to filling vacancies."
The roles requested included doctors, nurses, radiographers, administrative staff, oral health therapists, and healthcare assistants.
"Allowing such long-standing vacancies in so many areas of the health system is a recipe for burnout and eventually, even higher vacancy rates as staff quit for overseas hospitals where their skills are valued," Fitzsimons said.
Unsafe staffing levels were a key driver for Friday's strike by 17,000 healthworkers represented by the PSA - including allied health staff, mental and public health nurses, and policy, knowledge, advisory and specialist workers, she continued.
"Workers are sick and tired of being ignored and must again send a loud and clear message to the Government that it must listen to their concerns and make patient care a priority. Enough is enough."
Health Minister blames Labour
Health Minister Simeon Brown said the data showed Health NZ was recruiting staff, with hundreds more doctors and about 2000 additional nurses employed since the government took office.
"However, Health New Zealand must move more quickly, and my expectation is that front-line vacancies are recruited to at pace.
"Let's be clear - Labour's botched merger of all DHBs into one mega-entity in the middle of a pandemic created a centralised, slow, and bureaucratic system.
"That's why under this government, Health New Zealand is moving decision-making back to the regions, so recruitment and workforce decisions happen faster and closer to communities."
PSA members will walk off the job on Friday for four hours, with pickets and rallies at 30 locations around the country from 1pm.
Fitzsimons said since the previous strike on October 23, the parties had attended mediation through the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment but no settlement has been reached.
"Health NZ's offer would mean workers go backwards. The health system is currently being held together by these workers' good will for their patients. It's not sustainable, not fair on workers, and doesn't serve patients well either."
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