Break the cycle of expensive external advisors, ASMS advises Southern DHB

“The cash-strapped Southern District Health Board needs to break the cycle of seeking expensive external advice and turn instead to expertise within its own ranks,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS).

His comments follow revelations the DHB has been spending more than $10,000 a week on a temporary head of finance (http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/359596/sdhb-temp-10000-week).

Mr Powell says the DHB has a pattern of looking in the wrong places for expertise to solve its problems, when the answers are often right under their noses. For example, the media reported last year that the DHB had spent $1.3 million on a wide range of external consultants in 2012-13 (http://www.asms.org.nz/news/asms-news/2014/05/02/southern-dhb-looking-for-answers-in-wrong-places/).

“This latest funding for a temporary head of financial is just another example of short-sighted thinking that involves throwing money at a problem seemingly indefinitely,” he says.

“What we need to see in a more general sense is greater investment in the senior doctors working at the DHB’s hospitals. They, and others on the clinical front line, have expertise the DHB should be drawing on.

“If the Commissioners and hospital managers create a culture that encourages clinical engagement, that will lead to better decision-making, less waste and an improvement in the DHB’s financial position. Patients and hospital staff want to see a smarter approach to these issues.”

Mr Powell concluded by noting that Southern DHB desperately needed a new engaging leadership culture if it was to get out of its difficulties.

ENDS

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