A locum neurosurgeon with a six-month contract arrived in Dunedin last month and another is expected at the end of August.
At this week's Southern District Health Board hospitals' advisory committee meeting members were advised a locum, Mr Ahmad Taha, arrived in mid-July.
Mr Taha is originally from Syria and was trained in medicine and neurosurgery in the United Kingdom.
Dunedin's emergency medicine and surgery group manager, Dr Colleen Coop, said, in response to questions from the Otago Daily Times, it was hoped the two locums would work in the service until the arrival of the two permanently-appointed neurosurgeons expected from Europe next year.
The continuing uncertainty over the neurosurgery service made it vulnerable and there was always a risk those who had accepted positions might not be able to take them up.
While the two European specialists had been given start times next year, the service knew from past experience there were many things which could affect this.
Changes could result from such things as specialists changing their minds at the last minute, family crises, better offers received elsewhere, difficulties over registration or supervision requirements specialists were not happy to fulfil - "and the list goes on", she said.
Southern's region has been covered by locum neurosurgeons working in Dunedin Hospital with back-up from the Canterbury District Health Board since the last permanently appointed neurosurgeon, Suzanne Jackson, left at the beginning of last year.
Ms Jackson is now working for the Canterbury District Health Board, which has four neurosurgeons.
