Cost-cut review looks at 1400 healthcare jobs

More than 1400 Auckland District Health Board management and administration jobs are under scrutiny as part of a drive to save money.

The board has until the 2006-2007 financial year to eliminate its deficit, thought to be about $49 million this year.

Chief executive Garry Smith said the board was spending more than the national average on management and administration.

It wanted to cut those costs first before looking at reducing costs that related directly to patient care.

The bill for management and administrative salaries was $83 million a year, Mr Smith said.

The board was spending 13.8 per cent of its total revenue on management and administration when the national average was 10.5 per cent.

Savings of $16 million were being sought from management and administration costs.

Mr Smith said the exact number of jobs to go in the review would not be known until early next month.

The board has 8500 staff.

It had been talking to management, staff and unions about job cuts, Mr Smith said. The next stage would be consulting staff members who might be affected.

Staff who worked closely with patients were far more secure than those in support roles.


"Our objective is to improve efficiency, reduce bureaucracy and make the environment for our clinicians as effective as we can," Mr Smith said.

The board warned the Government this year that cuts in services and quality were likely if it was held to a three-year deadline to eliminate its deficit.


The Ministry of Health had told the board it wanted the deficit eliminated by the 2005-2006 financial year.

But the board's argument convinced the Government and the deadline was extended by a year.

In February, the Herald revealed that the board wanted to reduce its management numbers so it could spend more on patients.

National's associate health spokesman, Paul Hutchinson, said the problems in Auckland were symptomatic of layers of bureaucracy created by the Government.

"Since Labour instituted its Health and Disability Act, it has been obvious that the highly complex bureaucracy associated with district health boards would eventually cause problems."