Rotorua Hospital. Photo: Felix Desmarais/LDR
Doctors at Rotorua Hospital's emergency department have lost faith that management will deal with critical staff shortages, which they say are putting community safety at risk.
In a letter to staff leaked to RNZ, the director of operations for the Lakes region, Alan Wilson, said the region was moving to a "single roster" for the emergency departments at Rotorua and Taupō, which was in danger of having to close due to the doctor shortage.
Senior Rotorua clinicians have told RNZ they felt "blind-sided" by the "bombshell" directive, which will involve a two-hour return trip or overnight stays.
Health New Zealand said it would now be consulting with staff "in the coming weeks".
However, one senior ED doctor - whom RNZ has agreed not to name - said staff were sceptical.
"To be frank, we have lost trust in Alan Wilson and have no faith in his ability to lead either Rotorua or Taupō hospital through this challenging time.
"Due to this lack of trust, further engagement and 'consultation' will be difficult.
"He has repeatedly undermined much of the hard work done by senior clinical staff and he appears to have no regard for the health and safety of our community."
A business case for two extra full-time staff put forward by Rotorua ED earlier this year was rejected due to insufficient funding.
Health Minister Shane Reti said there were critical staff shortages at emergency departments nationwide but maintained government funding was sufficient.
He said he was not aware why Rotorua ED's request for more doctors was turned down earlier this year.
"Emergency doctors around the country and emergency departments around the country are struggling actually. I only know the broad details of this particular case but I would reflect that EDs are struggling all over New Zealand which reflects our need for health workforce actually."
He believed the problem was overspending by Te Whatu Ora, not under-funding.
Rotorua Hospital is at risk of losing its accreditation from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine to train specialists due to its own shortage of senior doctors.
Meanwhile, Health New Zealand's boss has told staff that recruitment for clinical roles are on hold until spending can be reined in.
The agency has previously denied the hiring freeze applies to frontline roles.
However, in a letter seen by RNZ, chief executive Margie Apa has said it was vital the agency manage its overspend.
The overspend was a consequence of recruiting clinical staff ahead of budget and having operating models which were not affordable, Apa said.
Once budgets were confirmed, recruitment would be able to proceed as long as roles were within budget or were replacing existing roles, she said.
