A mixed bag – 90 days and Wairoa Health Services…
July 19, 2010
Over the weekend I attended the National Party annual conference in Auckland. The final day was overshadowed by a few protestors campaigning against our announcement to increase the 90 day trial period, currently only for businesses employing under 20 people, to all businesses. The protestors said it would risk jobs. This shows to me a total disconnect with the employment of people.
For starters no employer that I know enters into an employment agreement with the aim of firing someone in 90 days time. This proposition is just garbage. Employers enter into an employment relationship on the basis that it will be win win for both parties. Employers want the relationship to be successful as it will help to build the business. Employers spend time and money to train new employees so the last thing they want is for the relationship to go sour. From my experience employers value good workers tremendously. However on occasion the relationship does not work out and if this is the case in the first three months then the relationship can be ended by the employer with no fuss. This no fuss approach will encourage more employers to take a chance with employees from all walks of life. It will be great for first time employees, employees re-entering the work force and for those who have been long term unemployed.
From my point of view the policy will stimulate employment opportunities creating more jobs and that has to be good. What’s more most of the countries we like to compare ourselves with, like the UK and Australia, have grievance free periods well in excess of what we are introducing making our policy look fair and reasonable.
One of the other great things from the conference was to be reminded of some of the smaller election promises now implemented. In Health, for instance, there have been a range of highlights. We promised to implement a 12 month course of Herceptin treatment for sufferers of Breast Cancer. We delivered on this within the first year. We promised to improve the waiting times in emergency rooms. In the last 18 months we’ve improved the waiting times from 80% of people being seen within 6 hours to 88% being seen within the same time period. We promised to double the number of new elective surgeries from 2000, the level which Labour achieved in its last year of Government. Our goal was 4000 – we delivered 12,000 new elective surgeries. Not bad in fiscally constrained times.
Closer to Wairoa there are a number of health service issues which I can also update readers upon. In a recent column I discussed the future of the PHO and can report that there are continued moves to amalgamate PHO’s across Hawkes Bay. While the combined organisation is yet to be finalized I can assure locals that there will be representation from Wairoa, Napier, Hastings, and Central Hawkes Bay locals.
In addition to this I can report direct from the DHB CEO that a model for the reorganisation of primary care services in Wairoa is now at the advanced stages of discussion and is close to being finalised. This is not about reducing the health budget in Wairoa. Far from it! This is about delivering more consistent frontline services using the same resources. I would add that an additional goal is sustainability of services which for a small community like Wairoa is critical. I am supportive of these moves and am confident they will bring genuine improvements to local health services with outcomes similar to the excellent results being achieved nationwide.
Chris Tremain – MP for Napier
