Photo: RNZ / Karen Brown
Emergency doctors from Rotorua Hospital dispute management's claim that "additional staff" are being recruited, saying advertised positions are just to replace those leaving.
Health New Zealand is consulting with staff on a controversial plan to get Rotorua doctors to also cover Taupō ED, which is struggling to fill vacancies for five doctors.
In a statement to RNZ, the region's director of operations Alan Wilson said Rotorua currently had 1.4 vacancies in its emergency department, "with multiple applicants to fill the roles".
"This means Rotorua Hospital has some ability to recruit additional staff to support the district and could provide some shifts in Taupō Hospital, however, it's important to note that we are only considering options at this stage as to how best to continue delivering 24/7 healthcare and advice to the Taupō community."
There were currently 12 senior clinicians employed in Rotorua's ED - the equivalent of 7.05 full-time doctors.
Rotorua Hospital was "not at risk" of losing accreditation from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine to train specialists due to a lack of senior doctors, he said.
"To have registrars in training with the College of Emergency Medicine, Lakes is required to only roster specialists on call who are Fellows of the College of Emergency Medicine, which the majority of Rotorua ED SMOs are.
"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."
According to the Resident Doctors' Association, emergency doctors at Rotorua this week were needed to care for patients from the medical wards due to worse staff shortages in that department.
Wilson said it was "incorrect to say patients are being sent back from the wards to the Emergency Department in Rotorua Hospital".
The hospital used a programme called Care Capacity Demand Management to ensure wards were adequately staffed by matching staff resources to patient demands.
"All staff within Rotorua Hospital work together to cover competing pressures in different areas at different times. This is standard practice across all hospitals."
However, senior doctors told RNZ they regarded Wilson's statements as "misleading" and showed a lack of understanding of the workforce and training programme requirements as confirmed by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.
The college required specialists to be rostered for a minimum of 14 hours a day, seven days a week, plus a specialist must be on call overnight when there was a trainee on the night shift, they pointed out.
"It is clear that Alan Wilson hasn't done his homework and it is really concerning that he is making important decisions regarding staffing and funding with such poor understanding of the fundamental issues," one said.
RNZ understands that of the 7.05 full-time equivalent senior doctors on staff, two are not specialist emergency physicians, which leaves five to cover the minimum shifts to train junior doctors.
Furthermore, the 1.4 roles being recruited were to replace one doctor going on maternity leave and another who was finishing this week.
Another Rotorua doctor told RNZ the team was very anxious to support their colleagues in Taupō.
"They have gone above and beyond to keep the doors open, they're literally throwing themselves into the gaps. But you can't just take staff from one under-staffed service and put them into a more under-staffed service.
"My fear is we're going to lose SMOs."
Doctors and nursing staff have told RNZ that during Health Minister Shane Reti's visit to Rotorua Hospital last month, he was "made aware" of the problems with staffing and accreditation.