The government's voluntary bonding scheme to encourage young doctors, nurses and midwives to stay in the country was launched today.

New Zealand is desperately short of doctors, nurses and midwives. This fresh approach will offer student loan debt write offs and cash incentives to graduate doctors, nurses and midwives to work in hard to staff communities or specialties for three to five years.

We want more of our doctors, nurses and midwives to stay in New Zealand after graduation. The new voluntary bonding scheme will encourage career choice and encourage qualifying health professionals to establish their careers in New Zealand.

In the first year the scheme is expected to cover 100 doctors and 250 midwives and nurses working for up to five years in areas with critical workforce shortages.  Each year another similar sized group will be added to the scheme.

"When fully in place the $10 million a year scheme will result in up to 500 doctors and 1,250 nurses and midwives a year working in either hard to staff specialties or areas." Mr Ryall says.

"Registration will be on line and the website went live this morning."

"We discussed with sector representatives which specialities and areas were hardest to staff and we've built the scheme with flexibility in mind so that it will be as responsive as possible," says Mr Ryall.

"In parts of the country there are high vacancy rates and positions take a long time to fill. There is also a high reliance on expensive locums. This often means longer waiting times for treatment compared to other services or communities and a great deal of stress on other health professionals."

"This is a first tangible step to helping keep our own front line clinical doctors, nurses and midwives, which we have trained specifically to care for kiwis, to work in the country that trained them."

There is background information attached, and the website for more information and registration is www.moh.govt.nz/bonding