Hutt health board hires twice as many managers as docs
Since 2001 the Hutt Valley District Health Board has employed 123 extra managers and administrators but only 56 extra doctors. National?s Health spokesman, Tony Ryall, has slammed the Hutt Valley District Health Board and Labour for ?out-of-control health bureaucracy.? Figures released by National show that under Labour the bureaucracy at the board has ballooned. ?I know you need people there to make sure people get paid and phones get answered, but this is unbelievable,? Ryall said. ?There seems to be a culture in health that whenever something needs to be done, they employ more managers.? The figures were obtained through parliamentary questions and the Official Information Act. "People in Hutt Valley will be saying this is bureaucracy gone mad.? ?At a time when every health dollar counts, here is Labour and your DHB spending up on bureaucracy.? ?And you can bet that frontline doctors and nurses think this is the wrong priority too! "Thousands have been culled from waiting lists, emergency departments are in a semi-permanent state of gridlock, and it?s harder to get surgery.? ?But there are plenty of bureaucrats. "This year, DHB bureaucrat numbers will hit 10,500. ?And on top of that you have to add 1500 Ministry of Health staff. ?That?s more bureaucrats than public hospital beds!? Ryall said National would cap management growth and demand boards move resources to front line services. The Petone Herald contacted Hutt South Labour MP Trevor Mallard?s office for comment but he did not respond before going to press. The board was also contacted but did not reply before going to press.
