Professor Marie Bismark. Photo: University of Melbourne / supplied
Unsafe and in crisis: That's the analysis of the state of the psychiatric profession, in New Zealand according to a leading specialist who's just been appointed to the Medical Council.
Marie Bismark's appointment was confirmed this week.
She spoke to Kathryn about taking up the position at the Medical Council - which oversees standards for doctors - just weeks after retiring as the sole specialist psychiatrist at the Kāpiti mental health clinic.
The World Health Organisation recommends one psychiatrist for every 14-thousand people - Marie was on her own in a region of 60-thousand - filling three people's jobs.
But she says it wasn't just the workload that pushed her out.
Dr Bismark cites a culture of tolerance among doctors, with basic safety measures going unmet, resulting in three improvement notices after a Worksafe inspection of the clinic.
Alongside her new Medical Council role, Dr Bismark balances a busy schedule sitting on a range of other boards, and is in her first stint locuming in Melbourne.
