Twelve new junior doctors are being recruited to Nelson Hospital following a damning review that found staffing shortages were affecting care.
Health NZ’s acting executive regional director for Te Waipounamu Phil Wheble said the permanent full-time roles include five anaesthetic registrars, six internal medicine registrars and one orthopaedic registrar.
The recruitment drive follows recommendations from a 25-page review released in July, which outlined “significant” staffing issues and found that Nelson Hospital has specific shortfalls in some services compared to the rest of New Zealand.
The review highlighted the need to increase staff numbers to manage hospital demand and address long-term vacancies.
Senior doctors say patients’ lives are being put at risk. (Source: 1News)
“We know it’s important for our patients to reduce wait times, and we are committed to improving the community’s access to timely, quality healthcare,” Wheble said.
The new registrars are expected to start by the end of January, with recruitment already underway after the roles were approved in mid-August.
“In the meantime, I want to thank our amazing people who continue to work hard to deliver the best patient care possible. We are working with local teams to continue to boost staffing numbers as quickly as we can,” Wheble said.
Health NZ’s boss for the South Island, Martin Keogh, stood down from his role in July, choosing to return home to family in Australia, while Nelson Hospital boss Lexie O’Shea is being seconded to a new role at Health NZ.
Jo Gibbs will become the interim director and will begin a handover period from early September.
In March, 1News reported concerns from nine senior doctors at the hospital about how patient safety was being impacted by low staffing levels, among multiple issues.
Health NZ denied the accusation, instead calling it a temporary administrative move. (Source: 1News)
Doctors painted a dire picture of the situation, saying some patients were undergoing emergency surgery and having their cancers go from curable to incurable due to the long wait times.
An implementation committee chaired by executive regional director Dr Pete Watson has been established to oversee recommendations from the review.
“As well as overseeing the reviews’ recommendations, the committee will set up a number of smaller working groups, which will draw membership from the local Nelson Marlborough leaders, frontline clinical and support staff and unions.”
Speaking to 1News after several doctors went public with concerns, Lexi O’Shea defends her management of the hospital. (Source: 1News)
