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Ryan Bridge: The doctors strike doesn't add up · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Right now if you've probably been keeping across these senior
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: doctors strike as well, because it's going to affect all
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: of us. There will be surgeries that are delayed, there
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: will be specialist appointments that are delayed. There's a couple
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: of things about the story that just don't add up.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Yesterday we spoke about the average salary for these unionized
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: senior doctors. So Simeon Brown says the total packages worth
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: three hundred and forty thousand. Excuse me. The union hit
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: back yesterday they said, no, that's a made up number.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: They said, We've had people calling us, doctors calling us
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: saying I'd love to earn that much. But the point
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: is it's average, right, It's an average, so it's not
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: made up, and it's a total package including superannuation, overtime
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: and penalties. Now, for most kiwis when you apply for
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: a job, that's the number that you would work off,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: isn't it. When somebody asks you how much do you
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: get paid in the year, Well, first of all, you
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: wouldn't tell them, But do you just say your base salary? No,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: you would say your total package amount. Second bit is
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: around the actual staffing because this does not make sense me.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: We hear from doctors they are so short staff, not
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: enough specialists, not enough doctors, etc. So short staff that
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: they're on their knees and the system's broken. But the
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Ministry of Health says there are more senior doctors now
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: than when National came into office. And what's more, the
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: churn or the turnover has also come down. So are
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: the doctors saying the situation is now worse than when
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: National came in And if so, how short are we?
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: So either the Ministry is kind of making up numbers
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: or lying, or the system is bad and may be broken,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: but still better than it was fifteen months ago. Which
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: is it? Then there's the pay Put your hands up,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: dear listeners, put your hands up if you've scored a
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: twelve percent pay rise lately. No, I didn't think so,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: not that I can see your hands, but I'm assuming
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: there'll be some dairy farmers probably got their hands up
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: in the milking sheds this morning. With your record payout,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: nothing to scoff at. But what about your average worker? No,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: so doctors w twelve percent? The ministry says one to
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: two percent. Again, this doesn't make sense if you're worried
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: about safe staffing levels, and this is not really about pay.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: The chances of Health New Zealand hiring more doctors when
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: the wage bill is twelve percent higher seems less likely.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Is this counterproductive? Like I said yesterday, you want the
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: men and women who cut you open for surgery to
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: be well paid and rested, because well, they're cutting you
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: open for surgery, but they need to articulate just how
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: sick the patient is before we dial up the medicine.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: to News Talk set Be from five am weekdays, or
• 2:41
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