Cowards Bill English and Jonathan Coleman flee protestors at Dunedin Hospital

It says something about how dire under funding in health has become that the Prime Minister and Minister for Health have to flee protestors like cowards.

Not even a $1.2billion election bribe could calm the fury of those being underpaid and the spineless gutlessness of English and Coleman to run away rather than face the criticism sums up what is really going on in our underfunded social services.

National have let in 500 000 migrants and not built one new hospital in that time while underfunding health by $2billion.

The bullshit that National have force fed the country over caring about our health system has been shown up for the lies it really is with the Ministry of Health telling DHBs not to fund mental health workers anymore…

MoH tells DHBs not to pay mental health workers more

Sent to all District Health Board Chief Executives on the 7th of July, the Ministry describes increased funding for mental health providers struggling to retain their staff after the pay equity settlement as “unlawful”.

A Ministry of Health letter warns DHBs against paying mental health workers more. Photo: SUPPLIED

Since the pay equity settlement saw increases for workers in aged and residential support care, but not for workers in mental health support, the mental health sector has been losing exisiting workers and struggling to attract new ones.

One DHB told Checkpoint there’s an impending catastrophe in the mental health sector, if workers can’t be retained. 

…we have  a suicide rate that critics claim could be 3 times higher than officials admit and a Government who have only this year after being in power for a decade admitting that they are failing…

…and what’s National’s response to all of this?

Why they’ll give you a $20 a week tax cut.

The fact that this is still supported by 44% of the country should ashame us as a nation.