National's Dr Shane Reti said releasing the data would help provide a better picture of where resources are needed. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
National's Dr Shane Reti is calling on Te Whatu Ora to release a nationwide survey after leaks highlighted serious concerns about resourcing in Counties Manukau.
But the health agency is refusing to release the data, citing staff privacy and the need to protect future surveys.
Leaked material from the Te Whatu Ora (Counties Manukau) staff survey showed only 19 percent of respondents at Middlemore Hospital's emergency department believed they had the resources (including time, people, budget, facilities and equipment) to perform their jobs well.
For staff working across south Auckland, that number was 33 percent.
The Ngātahitanga Pulse Survey was conducted nationwide in December, with almost 28,000 people completing it.
Employees were asked to rate their level of agreement or disagreement in response to 16 questions about their working environment.
Reti said the Minister of Health needed to address the concerns and releasing the data would help provide a better picture of where resources are needed.
He said the leaked findings from Counties Manukau showed a majority of the staff from Middlemore Hospital who responded felt they did not have the support needed to do their jobs.
"And what I'm hearing is this represents what's happening across the entire sector," Reti said.
Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand chief people officer Jim Green conceded the biggest concerns related to the lack of resourcing and he was conscious of the pressures being felt across the "whole health system".
"This was an internal survey aimed at getting open feedback from our people about what their work environment was like, what was working well and what we could do better," he said.
But Green said it would not be releasing the complete findings from the study, including a breakdown on individual departments and districts, citing staff privacy.
"We will, however, be providing a high-level summary of the results that will be published in the near future."
He said in response to the survey, Te Whatu Ora was focused on improving resourcing.
"We will continue to step up our plans to grow the workforce and fill vacancies alongside the workforce initiatives already under way to relieve pressures in the short-term.
"To further support this work, and to track our progress over time, Te Whatu Ora will be conducting a follow-up survey later in 2023."
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said she expects Te Whatu Ora to act on the feedback received from the survey.
"Addressing workforce shortages across the health sector is a priority for this Government, with a focus on both international recruitment and on growing the domestic workforce," she said.
Verrall said that included changes to the fast-track system for health practitioners, to include all medical workers, including registered nurses and midwives.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said if personal information was included in the survey material it would expect Te Whatu Ora to consider its obligations under the Privacy Act. Otherwise it would expect the request to be processed under the Official Information Act.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
