Six Whanganui DHB psychologists join 600 union members in strike action

Six of seven Whanganui District Health Board clinical psychologists are continuing to take industrial action. Photo / Lewis Gardner.

Pay and training are key issues facing clinical psychologists employed by district health boards in places like Whanganui, a local psychologist says.

Psychologists employed by district health boards (DHBs) throughout New Zealand have been participating in ongoing strike action to tackle a recruitment and retention crisis in the sector.

Dryden Badenoch travels from Wellington to Whanganui every week to do the job he loves.

His travel costs are paid for by the Whanganui District Health Board who he works for as a clinical psychologist specialising in physical health.

He said he is happy with his post, especially as it would be very difficult to do his job in any other DHB as his specialty area has not been developed elsewhere.

But he questions if the employment is appealing to all.

"The DHB created the post and then took 18 months to be able to recruit somebody to it because of the difficulties of recruiting to Whanganui."

Badenoch said the issue is clinical psychologist graduates who are on a placement with a DHB do not stay after becoming qualified, due to the low salary.

A clinical psychologist working for ACC or Corrections could earn in two hours what they earn in eight hours under the DHB.

"You could see how that would be attractive to somebody who's got eight years' worth of student loans, is in their mid-20s, looking to start a family, buy a house," Badenoch said.

"Why would you work for a DHB when you can go to Corrections and get a salary where it's 20 per cent higher or go into private practice and earn a considerable amount more.

"It's not just for younger people. I could work mornings and make my salary in a private practice."

An APEX Union spokesperson said in the last four years DHBs have taken on intern psychologists but, because of low pay, only one in four interns stayed with the DHB with the rest going into private practice or working elsewhere.

Dryden Badenoch travels from Wellington to Whanganui every week to work as a psychologist for Whanganui District Health Board. Photo / Supplied

Badenoch said another key issue for Whanganui is its location and the fact it is not considered a major medical centre.

The majority of the training offered to clinical psychologists tends to be in Christchurch and Wellington.

It has been agreed that clinical psychologists would have defined annual training with a training allowance but Badenoch said this does not go far for some.

"Training allowance doesn't go as far if you're in Whanganui compared to if you're in Wellington where you're able to attend workshops and conferences, so especially if you're starting out in your career it's not as attractive to come somewhere more in the rural areas."

It is these issues that Badenoch and five other Whanganui DHB-employed clinical psychologists have been striking against.

Six hundred APEX Union members first took strike action over a five-week period from the end of July with a ban on working overtime.

Their second strike in September stopped group work between psychologists and patients.

They also stopped taking on any new cases that month.

Badenoch said he was still able to keep up the normal rate of contact and fill all his appointments within his wards without needing to take on any new clients in Whanganui.

His books are always full, he said.

The Government's wellbeing budget did not allocate any additional funds for secondary mental health services in which clinical psychologists work.

"No extra funding has been made available to any services so, given the rising levels of suicide, it's obviously all a major concern from all of us."

During October, the strike limited face to face contact between psychologists and patients to only two hours per day.

The APEX spokesperson said the primary goal of the ongoing action was to get the DHBs to commit to staffing one psychologist for every 5000 people.

Badenoch said Whanganui has 8.4 full-time equivalent psychologists, rather than the recommended 13.

"We've got two-thirds of what the best practice recommendations internationally say that we should have."

His work includes sessions with people who are recovering from a stroke or fall and those with multiple sclerosis.

He said it is difficult for his patients as many of their injuries are not covered by ACC or support from other agencies.

A Whanganui District Health Board spokesman said the DHB has put in place procedures to cope with the industrial action.

"We acknowledge the right of psychologists to take industrial action, and we appreciate the work being done by staff to minimise the impact on patients."

The matter is being negotiated nationally and the DHB supported efforts to bring about a settlement that satisfies all parties, the spokesman said.

Badenoch said the Whanganui DHB is a good employer and he has been happy with them for five years but the state of the profession in New Zealand is concerning.

"We are losing staff to other government agencies and the only thing that's been suggested by the Ministry of Health so far is they increase the number of training places."

The union was presented with the latest collective agreement last week, offering a 6.7 per cent pay increase over 20 months and a working group on the workforce issues.

Voting for the latest agreement closed on Tuesday evening, with an overwhelming number of union members rejecting the latest offer, the APEX spokesperson said.

The union is now looking at further industrial action.