A second permanent neurosurgeon appointment to the Dunedin
hub of the South Island Neurosurgery Service may not be far
away.
Service implementation manager Joy Farley said an offer had
been made to "a very suitable candidate" from the United
Kingdom for the position, which will combine clinical work
with a role as a senior lecturer at the University of Otago.
This week, the service announced the appointment of
neurosurgeon Mr Ahmad Taha to the first permanent position.
He had been serving as a locum in Dunedin since July last
year.
The third position for the Dunedin hub in the revamped
service will be a professor of neurosurgery, but as the quest
to occupy that position could take some years, a fixed-term
appointment will be made to a neurosurgeon in the meantime.
Dunedin Hospital service manager for surgery Helen Williams
said there was a potential applicant for that fixed-term
position, although there was still some way to go in the
process.
Another locum is to be appointed on a six-month contract from
the end of November.
Ms Williams said it was hoped that from May next year there
would be "three people on the ground".
A second registrar in neurosurgery has already been appointed
and is expected to start in October.
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