Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced further initiatives as part of a package to tackle shortages in general practice and improve access to primary care and health outcomes.
“I am focused on ensuring Kiwis have better access to primary care services, and strengthening our health workforce is a key part of that,” Mr Brown says.
“Today I am announcing:
- An increase in the number of training placements for doctors at medical schools by a further 25 each year.
- Up to 50 New Zealand-trained graduate doctors a year to train in primary care settings.
“We can’t just rely on sourcing our doctors from overseas – we must ensure a sustainable pipeline of New Zealand-trained doctors.
“As part of our plan, we will fund more Kiwis to train as doctors by boosting the number of placements at medical schools by a further 25 each year.
“During the term of this Government, medical school placements have already increased by 75 places each year. This additional funding will bring the total of extra places to 100, seeing the cap on first-year medical school enrolments increased to 639 annually from 2026.
“We need to make investments now to grow this important workforce, so that New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare – now, and in the future.
“This boost delivers on our commitment to train more talented, local students.”
The additional places will be allocated across the University of Auckland and the University of Otago, beginning in 2026.
“We are also ramping up the number of trainee GPs to give Kiwis better access to healthcare in their communities,” Mr Brown says.
“New Zealand has a shortage of family doctors, who play an important role in helping Kiwis to stay well and out of emergency departments.
“Providing opportunities for graduate doctors to receive clinical supervision and gain registration in a primary care environment is part of our plan to increase GP numbers.
“This initiative will allocate $23.3 million over four years to introduce a funded primary care pathway to registration for New Zealand-trained graduate doctors. The majority of time will be spent in primary care providers, instead of hospitals.
“Talented graduate doctors who have an interest in primary care will be given an early opportunity to pursue that interest, working in communities right across the country.
“Funding will support up to 50 New Zealand-trained graduate doctors into these primary care settings each year from 2026.
“A stronger health workforce that we can retain is critical to achieving our goal of ensuring all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare.
“These initiatives are the latest in a series to improve access to primary care and ensure New Zealanders can see their doctor, faster.”
