Te Whatu Ora staff 'filled with anxiety' over proposed job cuts

Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora employees set to lose their jobs say the restructure process has been gruelling, and staff are distressed and filled with anxiety.

The Public Service Association has announced the health agency is proposing to cut nearly 1500 jobs - of which about 700 were vacant - in the Data and Digital and National Public Health Service teams.

Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora confirmed it was consulting with staff on restructure proposals for its Data and Digital, National Public Health Service, Hauora Māori Health Service and Pacific Health teams. There would be more to come in the new year, it said.

But it disputed the PSA's claim that 358 jobs would go in the National Public Health Service, saying the proposed net loss was actually 57.

The PSA said its figures included about 300 vacant roles that had been budgeted for but were proposed to be cut.

A public health service worker, whose job is proposed to be gone, said emotions were running high.

"The process of releasing the information about how people have been impacted has been drawn out ... and gruelling," they said.

"Staff are filled with anxiety and I believe a growing contempt for the service as poor decision making from leadership continues."

A worker in the IT department said the team was "visibly distressed" and expressed anger about the changes.

"We firmly believe that these decisions may ultimately impact the quality of care provided to patients, which is deeply concerning to all of us," they said.

"This situation has left us feeling undervalued, especially when senior executives like Margie (Apa) continue to earn $800k or more."

Staff had been called to a hui on Wednesday to learn they were faced with losing their job.

In one of the meetings, affected staff were told the changes put pressure on to "work out how to do more with less".

People should carry on doing the absolute best they could under the circumstances, a leader said.

"I realise that this is not a good message for you and has come as a shock to a lot of you that that's being proposed, that your positions will be disestablished."

They were encouraged to attend hui about the proposed changes, read the material they were given, and provide feedback during the consultation period.

Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora was "absolutely committed" to a strong focus on health promotion for New Zealanders.

"We will deliver public health campaigns and work closely with communities, as we always have."

It would continue to invest in IT systems and data and digital services, it said.

A consultation document shared with RNZ said the data and digital department had to make annual savings of $99 million to hit budget.

It showed proposed staff reductions would contribute $12.8m of those savings.

"We have prioritised cost reductions in non-people areas where possible", it said.

Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora chief executive Margie Apa said the agency had been making good progress towards "living within our means" but it was still spending more money than it had.

It had already accepted more than 500 applications for voluntary redundancy.

Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora is the country's largest Crown entity, employing more than 80,000 staff, according to its annual report for 2022/23.

That includes frontline staff employed in hospitals. Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora said clinical roles were not being cut.

Job cuts avoidable - Labour

Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the job losses could have been avoided if the government funded the health system properly.

Its big spending on tax cuts had put the health system in a "perilous state", she said.

Verrall did not buy any arguments that the proposals would strengthen frontline services.

"Yesterday they promised 50 new doctors, that is clearly outweighed by the massive cuts they are making to services that clinicians need, like for example IT services and public health services," she said.

"I was fully aware when I was minister of health last year that we have a huge amount of need for additional investment in information technology, otherwise the safety of New Zealanders' health data and systems that ensure the continuity of our health services would fail."

Health Minister Shane Reti said he recognised people faced uncertainty but unions were using "misleading figures".

He said the changes were an operational matter.

"Work on delivering public health outcomes will continue, but there does need to be a reshaping of Health NZ - the government's expectations on that are very clear," he said.

"While Health NZ has made good progress in getting back to budget there's still a lot more work to do."

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