Dr Jonathan Coleman
Wellington, May 9, 2017
A record number of doctors and nurses are taking care of patients in Canterbury DHB.
Our dedicated health workforce is making a difference to the lives of patients in Canterbury. More doctors and nurses means faster treatment and better experiences for patients and their families.
As of March 31, 2017, there were over 980 doctor full-time equivalent and over 2940 nurse full-time equivalents employed by Canterbury DHB. That is 210 more doctors and over 670 more nurses compared to 2008.
National Record
Nationally, there were almost 8200 doctor full-time equivalents and nearly 23,000 nurse full-time equivalents employed by DHBs.
The number of doctors and nurses working in our public health system has increased by over 6900 since 2008, an increase of over 28%
This includes over 1220 more senior doctors, an increase of almost 45%, and over 1,210 more senior nurses, an increase of over 45%.
Recently I welcomed the Health and Independence report which shows that overall, the health and disability system performs well for most New Zealanders.
The Challenges
However, the report outlines the challenges facing the sector, such as an ageing population.
The New Zealand Health Strategy positions the health sector to respond to the changing and ageing nature of our population and works to ensure that the health workforce is well equipped to handle current and future demands.
The health workforce is supported by the extra $568 million being invested into the health sector this year – the biggest single increase in seven years – taking the health budget to a record $16.1 billion in 2016-2017.
A copy of the latest health workforce report is available on the Health Ministry website: www.health.govt.nz
Dr Jonathan Coleman is Health Minister of New Zealand
