Health
1News

Calls grow for more Māori, Pasifika anaesthetic technicians

October 27, 2022

Pasifika Anaesthetists in Aotearoa (PAiA) say that training more Māori and Pasifika technicians will help to shorten current surgery wait times.

Calls for more locally trained anaesthetic technicians, especially those who are Māori and Pasifika, have grown as the wait list for non-urgent surgeries continues to get longer.

Surgeries across the country have been pushed back, with a lack of anaesthetic technicians playing a significant role.

In May the Government revealed waiting times were a big problem nationwide. A task force was launched to help the nearly 36,000 people waiting more than four months for specialist appointments, and another 27,000 waiting for treatment.

To fix this blockage - partly due to too few anaesthetic technicians - the newly formed organisation Pasifika Anaesthetists in Aotearoa (PAiA) is proposing an increase in the number of local trainees with an emphasis on more Māori and Pasifika technicians in programmes.

New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists (NZSA) President Dr Morgan Edwards and PAiA executive member and practising anaesthetist Dr Ted Hughes spoke to Breakfast this morning. They explained the need for more Māori and Pasifika to take up the role.

"Pasifika and Māori are an example of a group that needs higher representation - it's only about 3% for each group," Hughes said.

"That's much lower than the representation in the population."

He believes having technicians representing patients can make a difference when they appear for their surgeries.

Hughes said that about 50% of current anaesthetic technicians are from overseas - mainly the UK - and that while it is essential to get overseas workers, the quality of care catered explicitly towards Māori and Pasifika can make all the difference.

"When you're feeling sick or ill, and you see a fellow Pacific islander or Māori, it makes such a difference to how you feel about things, and I think the quality of care can be improved by recruiting more Māori and Pasifika technicians," he said.

Edwards agreed and told an anecdote about a non-English speaking patient who came in for surgery and had a much more positive experience as the technician could speak the same language.

"Having a technician that can speak to that patient in their own native language was just a beautiful outcome for that patient," she said.

Hughes suggested that more on-the-job training for technicians while they are still at university is a potential step the industry could take to improve wait list times.

He highlighted the lack of practical experience undergraduates get before they finish their studies and called for more trainees to assist in hospitals.

Both anaesthetists said that while the process of getting more locally-trained technicians is a long-term goal, it is essential to shortening the wait lists.

Recommendations from the Planned Care Taskforce to cut down wait times include giving GPs more freedom to diagnose without the need for specialists, moving patients between regions and greater use of the private sector.

SHARE ME

More Stories