New Zealand hospitals advertising for more than 7000 staff

New Zealand’s hospital workforce is short by around 7136 FTE – with almost 40 per cent of those vacancies being for nursing positions.

The dearth is being felt most acutely in Auckland (1128.7) and Capital and Coast (1105.5) followed by Counties Manukau (731.3); but the regions are also feeling the pinch with 662.6 vacancies in Southern and 603.4 in the Waikato.

But the total vacancies as of March 31, 2023 are a steep drop from the 11,776.2 vacancies for New Zealand hospitals recorded at June 30, 2022.

Te Whatu Ora chief people officer Andrew Slater said the health agency was making every effort to build sustainable workforce in what continued to be a challenging recruitment environment.

The most recent numbers were released to Stuff under the Official Information Act but did not include information for Canterbury and the West Coast District, as this data is under quality improvement processes.

Slater explained that the data included unfilled positions that had been budgeted for as well as vacancies that had only temporarily been filled.

The biggest pinch point is nursing, with 2782.9 FTE vacancies across the county, while allied and scientific staff account for 1375 vacancies.

Te Whatu Ora can’t quantify the impact of staff shortages on surgery wait lists as it does not hold this information.

However, Slater said an expert advisory group had been established to analyse theatre capacity nationally and make sure it was being used as efficiently as possible.

Te Whatu Ora was working on a “realistic” recovery plan which would inform where health money would be spent, he said.

“We are taking a nationally co-ordinated approach to reduce wait lists. Over the last year thanks to the tireless work of our teams across the country we have delivered over 21,000 more planned care interventions above expectations.”

The agency is currently prioritising urgent patients and those who have been on the wait list the longest.

It’s expected that no patients – except those waiting for orthopaedic surgery – would be waiting longer than 12 months for treatment.

“Ensuring people have equitable and timely access to planned care is a priority for Te Whatu Ora, and while it will take time for wait list time frames to get to where everyone would like them to be, progress is being made,” Slater said.

In the meantime, Health New Zealand was looking to national and international recruitment while tyrying to build the local workforce, he said.