New Zealand Health Group says it 'should be seriously considered'
The National Party is proposing to pay the student loan debt of nurses and midwives in exchange of making them work in New Zealand for five years to attract and retain more health professionals amid a shortage of them.
"I'm proud to announce that National will pay nurses' and midwives' student loan repayments up to $4,500 a year if they bond themselves to working in New Zealand for five years," said National Party leader Christopher Luxon on Facebook.
National attributed the proposal to the graduates' practice of accepting higher-paying job offers overseas in a bid to pay off their student loans.
"Many graduates don't leave because they want to, but because they feel they need to in order to pay off their student loans," said Simeon Brown, MP for Pakuranga, in a contributed article to the Times Online.
The bonding scheme is part of National's proposed health policy as the country is short of about 4,000 nurses to deliver adequate healthcare to the population.
Dr Shane Reti, National health spokesperson, told the Morning Report that New Zealand is short of 3,000 nurses in public and at least a thousand in private.
To attract more nurses and midwives, National is further proposing a $10,000 relocation grant for nurses overseas to come to New Zealand.
The policy will apply to up 1,000 qualified nurses or midwives, according to Brown.
"National has costed this policy at around $60 million a year, and we will pay for it out of the $400 million of savings we have committed to by reducing Labour's spending on consultants and contractors," Brown said.
New Zealand Health Group, Aotearoa's largest home and community support services provider, welcomed the proposal and called for its serious consideration as the shortage of nurses has "reached beyond crisis point."
"From our perspective, any policy or proposal that means Kiwis who are ill, injured, disabled and elderly are not left without the critical, quality, nursing healthcare they need to stay well, or recover, in their homes should be seriously considered," said Jane Kelley, CEO of New Zealand Health Group, in a statement.
According to Kelley, it is urgent that the government makes New Zealand easier and more attractive for nurses to live in.
"Pay increases will help to grow our nursing workforce, but we need to invest a lot more, and it needs to be done quickly to make sure our healthcare sector is a viable career option for nurses compared to other countries, like Australia," Kelley said.
