Senior doctors are warning district health boards (DHBs) not to cut costs in response to the economic recession.
When DHBs were placed under financial pressure they sometimes made short-term financial decisions without regard to the longer term results, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell said.
"We are already aware of at least one DHB seeking not to replace vacant positions.
"Whether these positions are medical, health professional or clerical, not filling positions will affect directly or directly the effectiveness of patient care."
Mr Powell said the Government and DHBs should see health spending as an economic investment.
"The more effective our health services, the less the costs of poor health on the economy and the more productive the workforce.
"Investing in health during an economic recession should be as much a part of investment in infrastructure as an investment in transportation," he said.
"Health cuts don't heal. They risk harming patients and end up being more expensive."
A spokeswoman for the DHBs pointed to a statement of the 21 DHBs in November saying the Health Sector Relationship Agreement, signed by them, health unions and the Government, offered the best opportunity to build more positive industrial relationships.
They told the Government then that the agreement signalled a need to engage more meaningfully with staff and that things needed to be implemented at a local level.
