Health Minister Simeon Brown yesterday announced a further 25 training placements would be created for doctors at medical schools each year and up to 50 New Zealand-trained graduate doctors a year would train in primary care settings.
He said the initiatives were part of a package to tackle shortages in general practice and improve access to primary care and health outcomes.
‘‘I am focused on ensuring Kiwis have better access to primary care services, and strengthening our health workforce is a key part of that.’’
The additional places will be allocated across both the University of Otago and University of Auckland, starting next year.
Otago health sciences pro-vice-chancellor Associate Professor Megan Gibbons commended the government’s action.
‘‘We are pleased by Health Minister Simeon Brown’s steps towards addressing shortages in general practice and improving access to primary healthcare and we are grateful, ready and able to train more doctors next year.’’
She said research showed medical students’ interest in general practice increased during their training at Otago and she believed boosting the number of students would help the general practice workforce grow.
‘‘This increased opportunity to train more medical students next year will help strengthen New Zealand’s medical workforce.
‘‘It will not, however, deal with the doctor shortage that New Zealand faces.’’
Assoc Prof Gibbons said the university had previously communicated its capacity to train up to 60 extra medical students in 2026 and ‘‘significantly more’’ in 2027-28 which would raise the Otago Medical School’s annual intake to a total of 450 students.
‘‘We remain committed that the fastest and most efficient way to increase the New Zealand-trained medical workforce is to invest in extra places in the existing medical schools, which both have a track record of innovation and responsiveness.
‘‘Currently, the key constraint on increasing intakes is the government-imposed caps.’’
Mr Brown did not answer questions about why the increase was so small, considering the universities’ capacity to train more.
He referred to his media release, in which he said New Zealand could no longer rely on sourcing doctors from overseas.
‘‘We must ensure a sustainable pipeline of New Zealand-trained doctors.
‘‘During the term of this government, medical school placements have already increased by 75 places each year.
‘‘This additional funding will bring the total of extra places to 100, seeing the cap on first-year medical school enrolments increased to 639 annually from 2026.
‘‘We need to make investments now to grow this important workforce, so that New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare, now and in the future.’’
He said the government was also ramping up the number of trainee GPs, to give New Zealanders better access to healthcare in their communities.
‘‘New Zealand has a shortage of family doctors, who play an important role in helping Kiwis to stay well and out of emergency departments.
‘‘Providing opportunities for graduate doctors to receive clinical supervision and gain registration in a primary care environment is part of our plan to increase GP numbers.’’
He said $23.3million would be allocated over four years to introduce a funded primary care pathway to registration for New Zealand-trained graduate doctors.
The majority of their time would be spent in primary care providers, instead of hospitals.
‘‘Talented graduate doctors who have an interest in primary care will be given an early opportunity to pursue that interest, working in communities right across the country.
‘‘Funding will support up to 50 New Zealand-trained graduate doctors into these primary care settings each year from 2026,’’ Mr Brown said.
The initiatives were the latest in a series to improve access to primary care and ensure New Zealanders could see their doctor faster, he said.
