Pathologist shortage at crisis point

By MARTIN JOHNSTON, health reporter

A shortage of pathologists is putting New Zealand at risk of delays and wrong diagnoses for cancer and other diseases, a medical training body warns.

The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia has met Health Minister Annette King for what it called crisis talks.

It says the shortage poses New Zealand's "most dangerous medical situation on record".

Pathologists are laboratory doctors who diagnose diseases from specimens such as blood and tissue samples. Their specialist training as registrars usually takes five years on top of the eight needed to finish training as a junior doctor.

Around 210 pathologists are working in New Zealand in the equivalent of 158 fulltime jobs.

Some of the worst shortages are in forensic (crime-related) and paediatric pathology.

College chief executive Dr Debra Graves said yesterday that to reach the number of pathologists per head of population that Australia had - and Australia like the whole world was short of them - New Zealand needed 50 more.

The Government needed to fund at least seven more training positions just to maintain the current number of pathologists, and many more than seven to increase the number.

There were now only 59 registrar jobs, the same number as in 1977, she said. The number had declined dramatically in the last 15 years, although it had increased by seven last year.

Three pathologists on average have left New Zealand each year for the past two decades.

Dr Graves said they were often attracted overseas by better pay and conditions. New Zealand public hospital pathologists were paid between about $130,000 and $220,000 a year. In Australia pathologists could earn A$170,000 to A$300,000 ($197,000 to $348,000).



Fast diagnosis of cancer, among other diseases, was vital, she said. Unless the shortage was addressed smartly, patients could face laboratory delays and potentially mistakes by overworked pathologists.

Pathology went under the microscope at the Gisborne cervical cancer inquiry, which was triggered by pathologist Dr Michael Bottrill's widespread mis-reading of cervical smears.

But Karen Wood, the college's New Zealand vice-president, said the inquiry had not put trainees off pathology.

There was no difficulty attracting junior doctors into the discipline. The problem was the shortage of places.

A spokesman for Ms King said she told the college representatives she would look into funding more training places.

"She's asked the Health Ministry to work with the Clinical Training Agency on what can be done."

Dr Graves said she was satisfied by Ms King's response.

Staff shortages

Pathology shortages are worst in the forensic and paediatric areas.

An average of three pathologists have left New Zealand in each of the past 20 years.

It takes 13 years to train for the role.