40% of Resident Doctor Jobs Unfilled at Timaru Hospital

Timaru Hospital has only 16 resident doctors working on a roster which needs 27 to fully staff it. The New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association (NZRDA) wants management to take urgent action to protect the remaining workforce.

Timaru Hospital is one of the smallest hospitals in the country, so a 40% vacancy rate for resident doctors has an immediate and noticeable impact on patient care. The unfilled resident doctor roles span across the entire hospital including:

In the surgical department only one in four resident doctor positions are filled.
The single paediatric resident doctor is also covering obstetrics and gynaecology when normally this department would be covered by a second doctor.
In the Older Peoples Health ward only one doctor is rostered when it should be two.
In the medical department 50-60 patients are usually cared for by five resident doctors but currently only two resident doctors are managing the same full patient workload.
Resident doctors who may have only graduated from medical school at the end of last year are caring for patients they are unfamiliar with including those in intensive care, work that would normally be more undertaken by more senior doctors.
Medical school interns (final year medical students) in the hospital supposedly to learn are instead being asked to work as resident doctors and look after patients they are unfamiliar with.

NZRDA members at Timaru are reporting that they are exhausted being required to cover up to what is ordinarily the workload for three doctors. Patients are also suffering at all stages of their hospital journey; at the beginning some patients admitted through ED having to wait on the wards for up to 3 hours before a doctor can see them, through to the end of stay, with up to 48 hours extended stays in hospital before a doctor can get free from acute care to discharge them. Time critical medical treatment is also being affected by delays before doctors can check blood or other urgent test reports.

“The district has known about this crisis for some time however has not taken sufficient action to address the situation” said Dr Deborah Powell, NZRDA National Secretary. “We are halfway through winter with pressure only going to increase. Sickness and burn out is spreading amongst the remaining doctors.”

“We have made suggestions to Timaru to manage demand on services until more doctors arrive. These suggestions have been ignored. The only solution from management so far seems to be to expect our resident doctor workforce to do the job of 2 or 3 doctors.”

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Dr. Deborah Powell
NZRDA – National Secretary
Email: secretary@nzrda.org.nz