Waikato Hospital Dependent on Foreign Qualified Doctors

new-zealand-first-party

Tue Jul 28 2015 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Waikato Hospital Dependent on Foreign Qualified Doctors

Tuesday, 28 July 2015, 10:06 am
Press Release: New Zealand First Party

Barbara Stewart MP
Spokesperson for Health

Waikato Hospital Dependent on Foreign Qualified Doctors

Close to half the doctors employed by Waikato District Health Board are overseas trained, says New Zealand First.

“In the mental health department, in which an alleged fraudulent psychiatrist was working, there are two overseas qualified doctors to every New Zealander,” says Barbara Stewart, New Zealand First Health Spokesperson.

“The Minister of Health Dr John Coleman needs to do more than have a meeting with the Director-General of Health. He needs to urgently verify that all overseas qualified medical staff in New Zealand are who they say they are.

“Official information released to New Zealand First in March shows that 41 per cent of all doctors at Waikato DHB had qualified overseas.

“In four other Waikato DHB departments, the ratio of overseas qualified to Kiwi qualified doctors is at least one to one. This includes Women’s Care, Waikato Laboratory and Rural Hospitals. Meanwhile, Thames Hospital had nine overseas qualified doctors to just two New Zealanders.

“This is a serious dependency on overseas qualified staff. Reassuring Waikato residents that another fraudulent doctor has not been employed by their DHB should be the priority for the Minister and this needs to start with a full review of all overseas qualified medical staff,” says Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

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