The SDHB — like DHBs nationwide — is trying to recruit junior doctors to meet rostering requirements imposed by settlement of the resident doctors’ pay claim.
That agreement put in place a new schedule of working hours under which junior doctors will not work more than four consecutive night shifts.
Southern is one of several DHBs battling to find staff, and Deborah Powell, secretary of the Resident Doctors Association (RDA), said that was partly because potential candidates did not want to work in the region.
"Working at Southern is increasingly being seen as not a good option because of all that is going on down there, the loss of ICU accreditation and so on," Dr Powell said.
"Southern’s reputation, we warned a while ago, you cannot lose accreditation and not think it’s going to impact on the attractiveness of a district health board to up and coming people."
Dunedin Hospital’s intensive care unit lost its training accreditation four years ago. It is undergoing a rebuild at present.
Dr Powell said the RDA was helping the SDHB to advertise for junior doctors, but it had been a challenge to find candidates.
"They are struggling ... and I am afraid it is starting to have an effect."
SDHB chief medical officer Nigel Millar said problems recruiting staff — and particularly resident medical officers — was a problem for all DHBs, not just Southern.
"There is nationwide competition for excellent staff and it is always a challenge to recruit the best," he said.
"Additional RMOs are required as a result of changes to their MECA [multi-employer collective agreement], and again it is a nationwide challenge to meet these requirements. DHBs have had varying success and where one succeeds in recruiting, it naturally depletes the pool for others."
Answers from the SDHB to questions from Parliament’s health select committee about the DHB’s annual review showed delays recruiting staff in some specialty areas, for a variety of reasons.
For example, some vacancies have been kept unfilled for budgetary reasons, and at its recent appearance before the select committee the SDHB said that practice might not save money in the long term as it could lead to delays in care and people being in hospital for longer.
Top of the pile are 12 psychiatry roles, which were vacant for a combined 3326 days.
In addition, 15 anesthesiology roles had been vacant for a combined 1579 days, while two neurosurgery roles, equivalent to one full-time role, had been vacant for 1041 days.
By contrast, roles in areas such as sexual health, public health, ophthalmology, urology and paediatrics had been vacant for much shorter periods of time.
Figures supplied to Parliament by the SDHB showed it employed 3948 people in 2016-17, down slightly from 4056 the previous financial year, with a turnover rate of 11.55%.
The average length of service at the SDHB has remained consistent at around 10 years.
Dr Millar said Southern had some recruiting advantages over the rest of the country, especially the DHB’s strong relationship with the University of Otago.
"That enables opportunities for those with research and other interests.
"The upcoming rebuild of the hospital and the preparations we are doing in terms of looking at models of care that are right for the future also promises exciting things for those wanting to be part of this transition and work here."
Considerable effort went into making the SDHB an attractive place for people to work, Dr Millar said.
"Like many other DHBs, we are prioritising building a strong culture at Southern DHB to enhance what we offer as a place to work."
