KEY POINTS:
A surgeon who retrained after a review of his poor performance is entitled to have his Tauranga Hospital job back, even if staff there don't like it, the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ruled.
Ian Breeze was the subject of a Health and Disability Commissioner's investigation into his care of patients between 1998 and 2002.
He was ordered to undergo further training before returning to surgery.
Mr Breeze took a case to the ERA because he understood that once he had fulfilled the retraining requirements of the Medical Council, he would get his job back at Tauranga Hospital.
However, former Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief executive Ron Dunham told the authority that no such undertaking was made.
Mr Dunham said Mr Breeze was told he would be supported in his retraining and re-credentialling, but that no promise was made that he would return to his job as a consultant general surgeon.
In February last year, the Medical Council said it believed Mr Breeze was now competent to work as a consultant.
ERA member Dzintra King ruled she was satisfied it had been agreed that once Mr Breeze was retrained the DHB would enable him to re-enter the workforce as a surgeon at Tauranga Hospital.
An issue which arose during the hearing was that hospital medical staff were resisting the return of Mr Breeze.
Ms King said they had a legal obligation, just as employees in other occupations did, to carry out lawful and reasonable instructions.
If the matter could not be resolved satisfactorily for both parties, they might want to consider mediation, she said.
A spokeswoman for the DHB said it intended to appeal against the decision.
- NZPA
