Wellington staffing crisis may hit other hospitals

new-zealand-national-party

Fri Mar 16 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Wellington staffing crisis may hit other hospitals

Friday, 16 March 2007, 9:38 am
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Hon Tony Ryall National Party Health Spokesman

16 March 2007

The staffing crisis at Wellington Hospital could have dramatic flow-on effects for the rest of the New Zealand health system, says National's Health spokesman Tony Ryall.

"If Wellington Hospital is banned from training anaesthetists, then the country will face an even greater shortage of these vital specialists.

"A significant proportion of the country's anaesthetists are trained in Wellington and it will not be easy to make up these places elsewhere.

"Wellington health bosses have known about the pressure facing their anaesthetic services for some time now. The College of Anaesthetists has inspected the hospital three times in the past eighteen months. One inspection every five years is the norm elsewhere.

"The Capital's health bosses need to front up and explain why they have sat on their hands while all this has been happening.

"Here's another example of a long-time highly-paid chief executive failing to deliver basic and vital areas of patient service.

"Losing anaesthetic accreditation will also mean that the hospital's ability to recruit and retain other medical staff will be badly affected. Junior doctors won't want to work there.

"This is serious and Wellington people will be wondering how things have got to this state. Wellington is a major population area and the hospital provides critical tertiary services to a large geographic area.

"Staffing is the biggest challenge in health today. The Government's never ending rounds of reports and reviews are failing our hospitals."

ENDS

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