The Southern District Health Board's (SDHB) chief medical officer is cautiously optimistic that a recruitment trip to Britain has been successful.
District health boards across New Zealand have struggled to recruit junior doctors since the introduction of new rosters designed to ensure those staff worked safer hours.
In May the SDHB commissioners' meeting approved funding for Dr Nigel Millar to travel to the UK to follow up on an advertising and social media campaign promoting the southern region to British doctors.
There Dr Millar joined a recruiter with experience in finding staff for DHBs to meet potential candidates.
Dr Millar was pleased with how the exercise had gone.
''We had the opportunity to meet with and interview 27 talented young doctors interested in working in New Zealand,'' he said.
''We are in discussions with most of these and have already made offers to a number, some of whom have accepted.''
It would take a few weeks to be certain of the precise outcome of the recruitment trip, Dr Millar said.
''We were very encouraged by the skills and enthusiasm of those we met and received positive feedback on our initiative to travel and meet face to face.''
