“New DHB’s Radical Restructuring Proposal Risky

“New DHB’s Radical Restructuring Proposal Highly Risky; Erratic Decision-Making”

“The proposed radical restructuring of the new Southern District Health Board is highly risky, both clinically and financially,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today. Mr Powell was responding to the proposal to restructure the recently merged Otago and Southland DHB.

“The merger of the two DHBs has not won the hearts and minds of senior doctors. In Otago there was ambivalence while in Southland there was criticism and fearfulness. Consequently the workforce needs stability, not radical restructuring. This proposal risks destabilising and demoralising an already uncertain workforce.”

“The proposal is based on the assumption that somehow the restructuring will help solve the new DHB’s financial deficit. In reality it is likely to worsen its clinical and fiscal viability. Otago is likely to be overstretched and Southland rundown. What is needed is a period of stability to allow the clinical services in both provinces to further strengthen their collaboration. We need evolutionary development, not disruptive radical restructuring.”

“The proposal seeks to reduce the four clinical director positions in each of Otago and Southland (eight in total) into six across the whole region. In other words these clinical leadership positions are cut by 25% and their responsibilities roughly doubled. It is a recipe for dysfunction.”

“The time frame of 18 days for feed-back on this restructuring is a shocker. What more than this could give the impression that the consultation process is a decorative cover for a decision that has already been made?”

“This is erratic impulsive decision-making without regard to the risks involved. Surely the DHB leadership has realised that the history of the health sector is that radical restructuring rarely achieves its objectives,’ concluded Mr Powell.

ENDS

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