Medical Physicists who provide radiation treatment to cancer patients in the public health sector will intensify their strike action to a 48-hour full withdrawal of labour on 16th and 17th February. This is an escalation from partial strike action which has been ongoing for 12 weeks and will continue throughout the upcoming full stoppage.
‘This small but vital medical workforce simply wants to maintain the recognition of their profession relative to other highly skilled medical specialists and to Australian colleagues who are often paid double their annual salary and receive up to 12.5% employer superannuation contributions.” says APEX Advocacy Lead David Munro. The employers have refused to make a new offer since their sole offer to settle this collective agreement was presented to APEX back in October 2021. ‘That offer was a step backwards,’ Mr Munro continued, ‘and would worsen the Physicists’ relative position in a very competitive niche profession. The employers have made no effort to address the issues brought to the bargaining table and have now sought the refuge of Facilitation by the Employment Relations Authority to address the issues they refuse to front up to themselves.’
‘The employers need to understand that they cannot hide from addressing the issues that must be resolved.’ said Mr Munro. ‘The Physicists’ must have access to salaries and a career path that will retain existing staff and entice qualifying and overseas physicists to enter the service.’ New Zealand has 16 Physics Registrars in training and when they qualify they are immediately in hot demand from hospitals overseas. ‘Late last year one newly qualifying physicist left for Perth to earn as much as the Chief Physicist at the DHB he was leaving. That is close to double what he would earn in New Zealand.’

The APEX claims are not deaf to current government expectations of restraint. We have made an important claim to raise superannuation contribution to KiwiSaver from 3% to 6% to match that of other medical workforces employed by DHBs who also train for more than eight years. ‘Improving superannuation would go a long way towards settling this dispute,’ remarked Mr Munro. ‘Sadly, we are simply told across the table that there is ‘no appetite’ for such a change from the employers. Why not? Money put into superannuation is non-inflationary and chimes perfectly with this country’s need to ensure retirement savings for an aging population’ he concluded.
‘Finally, we need to connect the dots here,’ said Mr Munro. ‘Radiation treatment is a crucial part of effective cancer treatment to ensure that patients can be cured or have extra survival years.’ On 13 January Radiation oncologist and Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) fellow Dr Shaun Costello made note of the crisis we are facing.
‘Up to 50 per cent of cancer patients would benefit from radiation therapy, but this was not possible to deliver in New Zealand because there was not enough specialist staff, Costello said.
He and the New Zealand Cancer Society warned the staffing crisis could result in a total collapse of the service if urgent investment into radiation machines, recruitment and training did not come soon.’ ‘The fact of the matter is that you can’t switch on a linear accelerator (Linac) or handle a radioactive source without a medical physicist in attendance. There will be no point to buying new machines and developing satellite centers for radiation treatment if we cannot attract and retain the medical physicists required to run them.’ Mr Munro concluded.
Facilitated Bargaining is set down for 23 and 24 February

ENDS

For further information please contact:

David Munro
APEX – Advocacy Lead
Cell phone: +64 27 276 9999
E-mail: david@APEX.org.nz

What is a Medical Physicist

Medical physicists are critical to the delivery of safe and effective radiotherapy.
Radiation is a powerful tool for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. but it must be used safely to eliminate risks to staff and patients. Medical physicists employ their scientific training to calibrate and test radiotherapy equipment. This involves extensive measurements when new equipment is commissioned, and regular testing on all treatment devices. The measurement and analysis skills of the Medical Physicist ensure that advanced cancer treatments are delivered correctly, with millimetre accuracy.
Physicists are also responsible for researching and introducing new radiotherapy technologies and treatment techniques that are saving more lives every day in New Zealand. In recent years, the complexity of radiotherapy has increased massively. Only a highly trained workforce can provide the knowledge, skills, and leadership that ensures radiation oncology services remain safe, effective, and world-class.
Moreover, physicists also assist radiation therapists and radiation oncologists in planning individual patients’ treatment, and then checking that it is delivered correctly. This requires specialist clinical training on top of physics expertise. This combination of clinic and technical knowledge means that it takes at least eight years for a medical physicist to complete their training which includes a minimum tertiary qualification of a Mastershttps://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/127473252/extraordinarily-distressing-cancer-patients-forced-to-wait-months-for-treatment or PhD level Physics degree.