NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Health: Senior Rotorua doctors told they will have to work in Taupō

RNZ
23 Jul, 2024 10:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Helen Clark has weighed in on Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ remarks in Parliament today after he used the phrase “retard comment”. Video / Parliament TV

By RNZ

Senior hospital doctors at Rotorua’s Emergency Department (ED) are being told they will have to work at Taupō's ED, to ensure there are enough staff for it to remain open.

It would mean a two-hour return trip for doctors who say they feel blindsided, let down and disrespected by Health New Zealand.

In a letter leaked to RNZ, Te Whatu Ora Lakes senior manager Alan Wilson laid out some stark options.

He said they faced critical financial restraints and two crucial risks at the emergency departments.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Te Whatu Ora has been unable to recruit more senior doctors to Taupō hospital and the ED there has multiple roster gaps, leaving the staff and community at risk.

The Rotorua ED risks losing accreditation as a teaching department unless it has 24-hour cover using doctors with a specific credential from the College of Emergency Medicine.

The solution is to merge the two ED’s rosters with current staffing while they try to recruit more people.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

One of the doctors affected told RNZ they were outraged.

“As an emergency department doctor I am used to being abused in my job - we are sweared at, spat on and physically threatened- but I’ve never felt as disrespected as I felt receiving this letter.”

They said the news, made without any consultation, was a slap in the face.

“Morale is already low amongst senior doctors and this directive to travel an hour each way for our shifts will inevitably lead to more SMO resignations, compounding the original problem,” they said.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton said she was alarmed.

“It’s not safe, it’s not reasonable, and it’s a failure I guess of a health leaders responsibility to assess current staffing, levels of risk, to be truthful about those, with the communities that those hospitals are tasked with serving.

Taupō Hospital.
Taupō Hospital.

“There needs to be advocacy and honest conversations about the real cost of providing healthcare,” she said

Dalton said the letter to staff, titled ”Working Differently to support our Emergency Departments and Communities”, did the opposite of what it was intended to.

“It’s trying to work un-safely and stretch an inadequate level of staffing across two sites that are an hour apart.

“I worry that it’s a sign of things to come, and it’s a terrible way to run a health system, where it says budgets are more important than people,” she said

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The letter outlined two other options that health officials considered and rejected.

One was having no senior doctor on site at the Taupō ED overnight - relying instead on nurses and a virtual doctor service. This was considered too unsafe.

The other was asking for more funding to recruit more specialist doctors at Rotorua ED - the letter says there is no available money.

In a statement, Wilson said Te Whatu Ora was exploring how to best continue delivering 24/7 healthcare in Taupō.

‘’Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora remains committed to providing a 24-hour Emergency Department in Taupō.

“The Taupō Hospital service offers a high standard of care that includes specialist ED doctors and Rural Hospital Medical Specialists.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Like a number of other services, we are experiencing some challenges around staffing, and we are currently exploring options as to how best to continue delivering 24/7 healthcare and advice to the Taupō community.

“We currently have four vacancies in Taupō Hospital ED, with no current applicants for these positions. One of the options we are considering is a proposal that would see staff from Rotorua undertaking some of their shifts in Taupō Hospital ED until such time as the staffing shortage in Taupō improves.”

Wilson said Rotorua Hospital currently had 1.4 vacancies in its ED, with multiple applicants for the roles, which provided the ability to recruit additional staff to support the district through providing some shifts in Taupō Hospital.

“People can remain assured that we are committed to their safety - and that of our staff - and we continue to work with our partners to find the best solution for the communities we serve with the resources we have.

“Staff will be consulted in the coming weeks about the proposal, and we encourage staff to discuss any concerns they may have about the proposal with us directly.”

However, Dalton said the proposals breached the collective agreement.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Taking this approach to significantly changing a model of care and peoples employment contracts, you can’t unilaterally do that according to our collective agreement, so this is completely in breach of that, it’s a breach of good practice, and it’s ignoring the basic safety issues that there are communities in Rotorua and Taupō who need access to safe healthcare.”

She said the proposal would not be able to go ahead without consultation.

The letter clearly stated the roster change was happening, but Te Whatu Ora now said staff will be consulted in the coming weeks.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
New Zealand

'Don't fall into that trap:' Why intelligence goes beyond school grades

New Zealand
|Updated

A couple bought a house in a holiday hotspot. The woman living there refused to leave

New Zealand

ACC exempted from covering man's PTSD triggered by abuse as child in Russia


Sponsored

Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Premium
'Don't fall into that trap:' Why intelligence goes beyond school grades
New Zealand

'Don't fall into that trap:' Why intelligence goes beyond school grades

AUT lecturer Welby Ings says school grades are not the only way to judge intelligence.

03 Aug 02:00 AM
A couple bought a house in a holiday hotspot. The woman living there refused to leave
New Zealand
|Updated

A couple bought a house in a holiday hotspot. The woman living there refused to leave

03 Aug 01:51 AM
ACC exempted from covering man's PTSD triggered by abuse as child in Russia
New Zealand

ACC exempted from covering man's PTSD triggered by abuse as child in Russia

03 Aug 01:30 AM


Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture
Sponsored

Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture

01 Aug 12:26 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP