Media release from Association of Salaried Medical Specialists

"Senior doctors employed by the Southland District Health Board at Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown feel betrayed by the proposed privatisation of the public hospital," said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today.

"This sense of betrayal by their health bosses was one of the most powerful messages given to me at a meeting with senior doctors last Friday to discuss their concerns over the proposal.  Nurses were also represented at the meeting.  They strongly believe the public is being misled by a sham public consultation process, with decisions already secretively predetermined.  In their assessment the proposal is poorly thought out and lacks sufficient consideration about the impact on patients."

"Queenstown hospital doctors are angry that they were excluded from providing clinical leadership in the development of the proposal to change the provision of health services.  This exclusion conflicts with the requirements for clinical leadership contained in the national collective agreement covering senior doctors employed by DHBs, in the 'Time for Quality' national agreement between us and the DHBs, and the government's own policy requiring DHBs to implement genuine clinical leadership."

"The proposed privatisation by stealth will put hospital based services under the control of private medical business interests who will then have a significant monopoly over primary and secondary health services in the Lake Wakatipu area.  The doctors believe that this shift will lead to a decline in the quality and range of services provided to the public, particularly in emergency and acute care.  It also risks adding to the existing pressures on Southland Hospital in Invercargill."

"What is also disappointing is that Southland health bosses are trying to camouflage the privatisation by linking it to one of the government's flagship health policies, 'integrated family health centres'.  It is a crass attempt to disguise giving control of a public hospital to a private medical business monopoly by offering the Minister of Health a ribbon cutting opportunity."

"The Association expects to be in talks soon with the DHB about injecting hospital doctors and nurses into the engine room of decision-making before irretrievable bad decisions are made.  If the DHB's and government's commitment to genuine clinical leadership is more than lip service then this injection must happen" concluded Mr Powell.