Should doctors be paid $150 an hour to fill gaps?

Opinion

Vacancies for doctors in their first post-graduate years have reached 80 per cent in some of the region's public hospital departments. Junior doctors in Auckland will be paid up to $150 an hour to work some extra shifts under a deal to address drastic shortages and improve safety.

The former extra-shift rates for permanent staff were minimums of $60 and $45 an hour respectively. The new rates, negotiated with the junior doctors' union, match the rates often paid to casual staff.

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