Each day that the National Government fails to properly invest in our health system, they’re choosing to risk the wellbeing of our whanau and those we love. Our communities just want to know that if they’re unwell or need to visit a hospital, they’ll be looked after.

With healthcare workers stretched, wait times up and hospital builds being downgraded, it’s clear National hasn’t provided enough funding for safe staffing and infrastructure. In fact, some hospitals have had to operate without doctors. Rather than admitting this, National has chosen to cook up an unbelievable story and blamed others, to justify cutting over a billion dollars from health services.

Shane Reti has refused to say whether his government provided Health NZ with the funding it had asked for, to keep up with population growth and inflation. It’s time to stop the National Party spin and open the books, so the public can understand exactly what’s going on.

Even worse than their claims about health finances, the Government can’t get its story straight on the health workforce. The recently appointed Commissioner claimed there was too many nurses, despite the fact many hospitals are understaffed, and nurses are being forced to work long hours. The Government denies credible reports of a hiring freeze from doctors and nurses on the frontline. Here’s the plain truth – if there isn’t enough money to pay for the number of clinicians we need to staff our hospitals properly, National hasn’t funded the system enough.

We also found out in a letter from the Health Board to the Finance Minister that it apparently wasn’t managers but pay for nurses that had contributed to a reduced surplus – because the Government hadn’t put enough money in to pay nurses what they deserve.

Then, the Prime Minister claimed an overspend because of ‘14 layers of management’, but this also couldn’t be backed up, and it turned out they were counting patients as management. You can see how hard it is to trust National with something as important as our healthcare.

Let’s set aside the spin and focus on the real concerns that aren’t being addressed. Health workers around the country are desperate for Shane Reti to let them fill vacancies. In some hospitals, cost cutting means that doctors are having to make beds and clean, when they could be spending this time caring for patients. People are having to wait months to see a GP, or showing up to hospitals where there are no doctors.

Shane Reti also promised that the current cohort of nursing students would be offered graduate roles, but dozens have just heard they’ve had their offers retracted, joining hundreds of others who are facing job uncertainty.

The Government’s choice to underfund health is making it harder for people to access all forms of healthcare. Doctors are pleading with Shane Reti to properly fund GP visits, so that people can afford to get the care they need. People have also been left unable to pay the prescription charges for medicines that National have brought back, resulting in more people with preventable conditions ending up in emergency care.
Pressure on our health system is increasing from every direction, yet the National Government is choosing to prioritize tax cuts for landlords and tobacco companies over investing in healthcare for everyone.

It’s time for the Government to front up, be transparent and fund the health system properly, so that communities can access care and advice when they need it.
– Ingrid Leary, Labour MP for Taieri and Spokesperson for Seniors and Mental Health,