The Southern District Health Board is introducing a single chief medical position, instead of chiefs in Otago and Southland, chief executive Carole Heatly has decided.
Yesterday, Ms Heatly released a final executive-level structure trimming the top team from 13 to 11 positions.
Staff feedback prompted her to change a proposal to retain Otago and Southland-based chief medical officers, who would have been deputies to the new executive medical director, Ms Heatly's decision document said.
Staff indicated they did not want site-specific positions because it duplicated the present structure.
Ms Heatly embarked on the restructuring because senior staffing was largely unchanged from the old Otago and Southland DHBs, which merged in 2010.
Ms Heatly also dropped deputy positions that were to sit under the new executive director of patient services/deputy chief executive.
However, a proposed "director of performance" would support this person, who replaces the Otago and Southland chief operating officers.
"Your clear message has been you not only want, but believe that a culture of thinking and acting as one is long overdue, and the proposed deputy structure may impede this, and would risk duplicating our existing structure."
Ms Heatly also changed a proposal to assign health safety, "quality and improvement", to the executive nursing position, because of concerns this sent a misleading message that safety was solely the responsibility of nurses.
A director of quality and service improvement would be created, who would report to the executive director of patient services.
The restructuring would be the first of a wider reorganisation.
"To this end the new executive position, once appointed and in position, will initiate a review of the other layers of our organisational structure, and will also determine the details of the approach."
The new executive takes effect on July 2, although some roles will take longer to organise, while some staff, including the chief medical officers, will continue in the short term to assist the new structure while it became established.
