Waikato hospital has too many staff members

At a time when many hospitals are complaining about staff shortages, Waikato Hospital is admitting it has too many employees.

Dr Grant Howard told the Health Waikato advisory committee yesterday the hospital spent at least $3 million extra on staff than planned in February.

He said no staff reductions were planned but better ways would be sought to allocate them across shifts and departments.

"Waikato Hospital has too many staff including nursing staff. This may seem like a controversial statement but it is supported by reasonable evidence," Dr Howard told the committee.

"The key initiative in the coming months will be to improve operational and capacity planning for the management and deployment of nursing and other staff for patient benefit."

Dr Howard told staff today he understood many of them would be unhappy with his view, but said he was aware many of them felt under pressure at work.

"Until we are better organised we will always feel as if we do not have enough staff. I take responsibility for getting us to a better place, but I will need your help to do so.

"We are not considering redundancy or staff reduction. We have adopted an investment and growth strategy, and intend to continue this approach into the next year."

He said he would hold quarterly forums with staff, starting on April 1.

Dr Howard said the hospital should be proud of its service but that it could improve.

"We have been here a long time and helped many people. We have committed staff that come to work wanting to do their best.

"However, the performance of Waikato Hospital is not where we would like it to be. We all want to work in a good organisation. We all want to feel that our community can rely on us to look after them when they need it."

A hospital spokeswoman told NZPA the issue was partly about staff allocation, as some departments and shifts might have too many staff at one time and others not enough.

An estimated 4300 people are employed at the hospital, including 3000 nursing staff.

Health Minister Tony Ryall is due to visit the hospital.