Christchurch Hospitals' staff against shake-up

Patients will suffer if a radical shake-up in the management of Christchurch's hospitals goes ahead, senior medical staff say.

The Christchurch Hospitals' Medical Staff Association has condemned a plan to do away with seven of the service's top jobs and create seven new ones, describing it as an ill-conceived panic reaction by hospital chiefs.

The Canterbury District Health Board says the proposal is needed to cut costs as it struggles to rein in a forecast budget blowout of up to $2 million.