By July, the South Island Neurosurgical Service should have some indication of the success of its quest to fill two Dunedin neurosurgeon positions.
However, service implementation manager Joy Farley said it could take six months to a year before the positions were filled.
Advertisements for Dunedin-based positions of consultant neurosurgeon and a senior lecturer/neurosurgeon close later this month.
The third position, a professorial post in neurosurgery, would be the first of its type in New Zealand, she said.
It could take up to two years to recruit to that position which involved a narrow potential field of highly specialised people.
The recruitment process would follow the usual pattern of the Southern District Health Board and the University of Otago, which will be the employers of the various staff.
Ms Farley said there were always professional subcommittees involved in such processes and it was expected that in this instance this would include the service board's clinical director, Canterbury neurosurgery head Martin MacFarlane.
Ms Farley said there was also likely an independent neurosurgeon would be involved.
The final approval for the appointments will rest with the neurosurgery service's clinical appointments subcommittee chaired by board chairman Melbourne neurosurgeon Prof Andrew Kaye accompanied by two others, most likely the chief medical officers of Southern and Canterbury district health boards.
She said it was "almost inconceivable" that a senior doctor who made it through to the subcommittee would not be a suitable person to appoint.
