KEY POINTS:
A survey of senior specialists at the Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) has largely confirmed ongoing disharmony between doctors and their employer.
The survey, carried out by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), involved interviews with 26 senior specialists, including 23 clinical leaders.
It follows audit results released this month which found widespread systemic problems and "a culture of distrust" between clinicians and management.
The audit, by Telarc, formerly Quality Health New Zealand, said the board was lurching from crisis to crisis and out of its depth.
The ASMS survey involved a question and answer format and while some answers were positive the majority were not.
Some of the most negative responses slammed the board, describing it as "demoralised and dysfunctional" and "opposed to change and progress".
Disorganisation and lack of resources meant patients were being bumped off waiting lists and cancelled on a daily basis, one respondent said.
Bureaucracy and inflexible procedures hampered progress and the health board was thought of as a "hostile unpleasant employer" and staff morale was "appalling".
A shortage of senior specialists and difficulty in filling positions was a common theme and much of that was put down to opportunities for much better pay and conditions overseas.
Most specialists said staffing levels in their various departments were inadequate.
Nine out of 26 said they were expected to work at least 55 hours per week, while the rest said hours varied between 40 and 53 hours per week.
Fourteen out of 26 said they were generally satisfied with the health board's recruitment policy and practices relating to senior doctors in their departments, but only nine considered the board successful at retaining senior doctors for lengthy periods.
Stress, burnout and/or overwork was considered by 18 respondents to be a reality for most senior doctors, while 16 said job satisfaction in their department had worsened in recent years.
Some said they felt valued as employees but were aware that was not a general consensus.
- NZPA
