Vacant doctors' jobs high

Claims by the junior doctors' union that Rotorua Hospital's emergency department is chronically understaffed have been blown out of proportion, health bosses say.

The New Zealand Resident Doctors Association (RDA), which represents more than 50 junior doctors at Rotorua Hospital, says nearly half (43 per cent) of junior doctor shifts in the emergency department (ED) will be vacant over the next 13 weeks.

The hospital says managing services with fluctuating staff numbers is a way of life for hospitals and it has processes to ensure essential emergency services, including ED, are covered and that patient care is not compromised.

Union secretary Dr Deborah Powell said the vacancy level was at a 20-year high, illustrating how chronic the doctor shortage problem had become.

"We knew that it was bad but running into winter, things are going to get critical," she said. "Poor pay, long hours and having to cover for so many absent junior doctors is putting both patients and junior doctors at risk."

The vacancy rate has been revealed just weeks after Rotorua's junior doctors joined 2000 of their colleagues at other hospitals in industrial action.

The two two-day strikes followed a year of failed pay talks between the union and district health boards.

Lakes District Health Board communications officer Sue Wilkie said Rotorua Hospital had three junior doctor vacancies out of eight positions in its emergency department roster.

One senior house officer is finishing late this month to travel overseas and see family. A second vacancy was due to one accepting a medical registrar position in the hospital.

The hospital has not had time to find replacements yet, she said.

"It is important that the people of the Lakes district understand that this is about the RDA whipping up public opinion because the union is making no progress in pay talks," she said. "The RDA is blowing it all out of proportion."

David Meates, a spokesman for the country's 21 DHBs in pay talks with the union, said its claims were a "stunt" to distract from its pay claim.

"The RDA should put its efforts into finding a settlement rather than undermining public confidence in our hospitals."

The union wants a 30 per cent pay rise over three years and argues that without it, hundreds of junior doctors will give up their permanent jobs to become locums or move to Australia where they are better paid.

However, the DHBs say the union's claim is "unrealistic". They have put a counter-offer of 4.25 per cent increase in July 2007 and July 2008.

They also offered to set up an independent commission that would look at junior doctors' issues as they arose.