A neurosurgeon has been on call to cover Dunedin Hospital at all times since it began relying on outside neurosurgeons at the beginning of last year, Southern District Health Board chief executive Brian Rousseau says.
At times, the on-call cover has been provided from Christchurch.
For the past six months, "with the exception of one weekend, on-site cover has been provided with one surgeon available", Mr Rousseau said in an email response to questions about staffing arrangements.
In a recent letter to Director-general of Health Stephen McKernan, Mr Rousseau advised he and Dunedin clinicians were not satisfied a proposed service with all six neurosurgeons resident in Christchurch would be safe, given the transport times and the emergency treatment provisions to be performed by non-neurosurgeons.
He described the interim arrangements of the board while it waited for the situation to be resolved as "less than ideal" and said the Canterbury board had "struggled to cover our requirements as well as their own when we have had periods without locums".
He praised the support of Canterbury's neurosurgical team.
He told the Otago Daily Times last week that since January last year the board had received five formal complaints about its neurosurgery service - two for lack of continuity of care, two for changes in clinic appointments and one for the length of wait for surgery (not beyond six months).
