Brain patients may be sent to Australia

Auckland City Hospital is considering sending some epilepsy patients to Australia for brain surgery because there are not enough neurosurgeons.

New Zealand is four short of the 17 neurosurgeons it needs. One in Auckland has retired, one at Wellington Hospital has reduced his hours and the yet-to-open neurosurgery unit at Waikato Hospital needs at least two.

Auckland is the only hospital in New Zealand which provides epilepsy surgery - for 30 to 40 sufferers of severe epilepsy a year.

The shortage of surgeons is "seriously impacting" on how long all neurosurgery patients are waiting for non-urgent operations, Auckland District Health Board meeting papers say.

There is an international shortage of neurosurgeons and some candidates for New Zealand jobs have been attracted to Australia by higher pay.

"We are particularly concerned that the national epilepsy surgery programme is well behind," the board's chief medical officer, Dr David Sage, said yesterday.

"It's at a level of concern that we are looking at overseas options for that programme in the short term."

The treatment, in which a small part of the brain (or a tumour) is removed, is used for cases of severe epilepsy in which drugs are ineffective and the part of the brain causing the seizures has been identified.

Auckland City Hospital has four neurosurgeons and has been trying to hire a fifth, following a retirement more than a year ago.

Dr Sage said it delayed trying to find a replacement because of Waikato's intentions, "but we reinstated our recruitment process when Waikato didn't advance their plans".

Waikato Hospital's neurosurgery unit was intended to open last year.

The hospital last month appointed Wellington Hospital neurosurgeon Venkataraman Balakrishnan - who is nearing retirement - for two days a week to set up its new unit and hire 2.6 fulltime-equivalent surgeons.