Health New Zealand has exaggerated its deficit to justify job cuts.

The agency today revealed “accounting judgement errors” that have led to a deficit that has been used to justify wide-ranging cuts to staff and services.

“The anticipated redundancies and holiday pay were used to exaggerate the deficit, which is in turn used to justify wide-ranging jobs cuts,” Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said.

“Health NZ was forced to correct their accounts by the Auditor-General, their Chief Financial Officer has left, and their finance team has been tied up in non-disclosure agreements. This is all highly unusual.

“Decisions about which jobs will be cut haven’t even been made yet, so what justification can the Government have for trying to lump those costs in a year early?

“The Government has manufactured a crisis to justify cuts to the health system, and New Zealanders are feeling it on a daily basis.

“We’re hearing constantly from people who can’t get the care they need and staff tell us they’re blocked from hiring to meet patient needs.

“Just on Monday the Government showed they have made no progress on their targets to reduce wait times for emergency departments and elective surgeries.

“Today, the government-appointed Health NZ Commissioner Dr Lester Levy also told select committee there were no cuts to services.

“It’s astounding that the person appointed to steer Health New Zealand is so out of touch with what’s happening inside the health system,” Ayesha Verrall said.