Snr doctors' pay up with all but Aust

New Zealand has kept pace internationally with senior doctors' pay, except compared with Australia, Dunedin Hospital emergency specialist and Association of Salaried Medical Specialists representative Dr John Chambers says.

Dr Chambers said the latest national district health board (DHB) salary survey, released this week by his union, was a weak guide to doctors' pay because it did not include special allowances and "job sizing".

"[Doctors] do get paid quite a bit more than the base salary."

Differences in average base salary between DHBs depended largely on the experience of specialists, which determined their salary step.

From talking to colleagues throughout the country there was a high degree of national parity, Dr Chambers said.

Senior doctors were largely "happy" with their pay, even though many could double their salary by moving to Australia.

Apart from Australia, New Zealand kept up with overseas rates, which was reflected in the fact it attracted health staff from Britain and the United States.

The agreement ratified in December between DHBs and the union would further increase pay, especially for younger doctors, helping keep them in New Zealand.

Based on a 40-hour week, Southern DHB specialists were paid a base salary of $180,172 for the year ending July 1, 2011. The national average is $176,705. Small DHBs like West Coast and Nelson Marlborough tended to have higher salaries.

For medical/dental officers, pay at Southern was below the average - $133,983 compared with the national average of $137,495.

Dr Chambers said allowances and job sizing (specialists' roles are often paid on the basis of a 50- or 60-hour week) bulked up the salaries.

He said the recent case of the Southern DHB health professional who was last year paid $820,000-$830,000, whom the board has refused to provide details about, was likely an example of wages being topped up by additional benefits.

"I suspect it's somebody working very, very long hours . . . it must involve a very high job size, it must be somebody who's on-call day and night for weeks on end; that's how you end up with that sort of salary."

eileen.goodwin@odt.co.nz

 

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