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A handful of patients have cancelled operations because they were to be performed by overseas-trained doctors.
Wanganui Hospital has been battling image problems since Czech-born gynaecologist Roman Hasil botched a series of sterilisations on women at Wanganui Hospital.
He fled New Zealand in March and Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson is investigating.
Since then, staff have been racially abused and some patients have cancelled operations.
However, Whanganui District Health Board (DHB) chief executive Memo Musa said the issue should be kept in perspective as only three of 3503 planned surgeries this year had been cancelled because the surgeon was trained overseas.
He said: "People face some type of discrimination every day, in every walk of life. We are talking about three surgeries out of 3503, which is a tiny percentage of the operations undertaken.
"Further, at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, our doctors are fantastic."
Anyone who was concerned about any aspect of their surgery should talk to the doctor involved in their care.
"I expect you'll discover that the surgeon is extremely capable and...just happens to be from another country," Mr Musa said.
Board chairwoman Kate Joblin said the issue had been blown out of proportion.
"It goes without saying that all staff make a valuable contribution irrespective of their land of birth," she said.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists director Ian Powell said while the problem was not widespread, the fact it had happened was a concern.
"What it reflects is xenophobia...it's an absurd reaction. I think it's borne out of this environment of an anti-foreign sentiment that is being encouraged."
Wanganui Hospital was a safe hospital, and patients received good care from their nurses, anaesthetists and surgeons, Mr Powell said.
About 41 per cent of New Zealand's registered doctors are foreign-trained, with higher rates in provincial centres, the Dominion Post reported today. Up to 80 per cent of doctors at Wanganui were trained overseas.
- NZPA
