Labour is promising to "deliver the largest ever increase to the number of doctors trained each year" if it wins the election in October.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins revealed the party would commit $924 million over 10 years to train 335 more doctors every year from 2027.
"We need more doctors given the decades of underfunding of our health system, and this record boost to our doctor training will make a difference for years to come," Hipkins said on Wednesday.
"Labour believes every New Zealander deserves access to world-class healthcare and that means having access to doctors when needed.
"Labour will increase the number of doctors trained yearly, scaling up each year until we are training an extra 335 doctors every year from 2027 - a 62 percent increase over current levels.
"This starts with the additional 50 doctors places a year the Labour Government announced as part of New Zealand's Health Workforce Plan and adds 95 more each year for three years to bring the total amount of doctors trained yearly to 874."
The party also took a dig at the opposition which has promised to set up a new medical school at the University of Waikato to train more doctors.
National also committed to adding another 50 placements in Otago and Auckland from 2025.
But Hipkins took a dig at the policy in his announcement saying Labour will deliver more doctors without a "fantasy unfunded third medical school".
"Our policy delivers more places faster. It is more efficient and cost-effective to use our existing highly regarded medical schools than to set up a new one that won't train any doctors in the next three years.
"Our health system needs to cater for everyone, which is why we have a comprehensive plan to grow the general practice trainees to 300 a year by 2026. We have a focus on increasing the number of Māori and Pacific GPs, and will make sure more doctors are in rural locations through accommodation allowance and relocation funding."
Labour spokesperson for health Dr Ayesha Verrall said if re-elected Labour will "provide relief to our valuable health workers by adding significant additional staff to ease the pressure on many roles."
This includes:
- Creating 700 extra nursing places in 2024
- Expanding new 'earn and learn' training opportunities
- Increasing international recruitment allowing us to recruit 300 additional Senior Medical Officers
- Settling pay equity for hospital midwives, continuing improving pay for the health workforce
- Scaling up earn-as-you-learn modular training
- Continue prioritising key health professions through the Green List and review regularly to plug skill gaps
"Our health workers have done more for New Zealanders than people will ever know, holding the system together not just through COVID, but for years preceding due to years of neglect and underinvestment," Dr Verrall said.
"Since 2017 we immediately sought to turn that around, and despite the pandemic we are making good progress. We've increased the top of the nurses' salary scale by almost $40,000 from $66,000 to $103,000, we now have 4800 more nurses, 1800 more doctors, and 700 more psychologists.
"We've launched a massive rebuild programme to improve our hospitals, build new ones, and upgrade our health infrastructure.
"We've already made doctor's visits cheaper for more than three million people, boosted funding for PHARMAC by $440m (51 percent), so more New Zealanders can access more publicly-funded medicine, and expanded the Nurses in Schools programme."
Verrall also lashed out at the opposition saying they would take New Zealand "back to a time where front-line services were neglected, workers pay in real terms went backwards, and sewage ran down the walls of hospitals".
"National's talent tax will also drive away the doctors, GPs, nurses and midwives we need to build the workforce through immigration.
"Only a re-elected Labour government has a plan to build the health workforce we need for the future, while continuing to back our health workers and give New Zealanders the world-class health care we all deserve.
National has also committed to training more doctors if elected through the new medical school and additional placements. The Party said it will see an additional 220 extra doctors graduating a year by 2030.
It also promised to fund 13 new cancer treatments and bring back health targets if elected.
