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Stopwork Meetings
Surveys
Specialists lost to Australia
Below is a summary of the data gathered by the ASMS regarding members who have left, or are leaving, to work in Australia over the last 18 months.
| DHB |
NO. OF
SPECIALISTS LOST |
| Auckland |
11 |
| Bay of Plenty |
4 |
| Canterbury |
9 |
| Capital & Coast |
6 |
| Counties Manukau |
11 |
| Hawkes Bay |
1 |
| Hutt |
2 |
| Lakes |
1 |
| MidCentral |
2 |
| Nelson Marlborough |
2 |
| Northland |
3 |
| Otago |
3 |
| Southland |
7 |
| Tairawhiti |
2 |
| Waikato |
7 |
| Wairarapa |
3 |
| Waitemata |
5 |
| Whanganui |
1 |
| TOTAL |
80 | |
|
| SPECIALTY |
TOTAL |
| Anaesthesia |
13 |
| Medicine |
10 |
| Oncology |
2 |
| Paediatrics |
7 |
| Pathology |
5 |
| Public Health |
1 |
| Microbiology |
1 |
| Geriatrics |
1 |
| Neurology |
1 |
| Psychiatry |
7 |
| Radiology |
8 |
| General Surgery |
5 |
| Emergency |
6 |
| Intensive Care |
2 |
| Orthopaedics |
1 |
| Obstetrics/Gynaecology |
9 |
| General Practice |
1 |
| TOTAL |
80 | |
Comments from a range of specialists
"I accepted a position last week...I will be moving to a more generous roster, with more time for other activities, and additional pay and other benefits. If the money was the same, I would still go."
"I would return to Australia tomorrow if there were not compelling reasons to keep me here. None of these reasons are related to the hospital, where I am finding working conditions far from satisfactory once again. After all these years management here is still unable to make the job here satisfying to specialists."
"The DHB has in the last 12 months lost three clinicians... two to Canada and one will soon go to the US. Additionally we have had several prospective hires choose Australia or Canada when appraised of the salary in NZ. It is almost impossible to hire in the non-surgical specialities."
"I know the DHBs don't believe this, but failing a decent settlement for both salary and CME, I will be off to either QLD or WA within 12-18 months. The DHBs seriously do not understand or appreciate how precarious their SMO workforce actually is. It would be comical if it wasn't so sad."
"I have been actively targeted, once by phone from an agency in Sydney last year, and about three times last year and once this year by direct letters advertising positions and lifestyle over the ditch. The majority of my colleagues have received these letters also."
"I'm seriously considering relocating to Australia in early 2008 primarily due to the attractive salaries. I know of another Emergency Medicine colleague who is considering the same."
"...a lot of my classmates from Auckland Med School have moved to Australia and never returned due to the better working conditions and pay in Australia."
"We are losing probably two senior registrars per year who go to enhance their surgical exposure and never come back!"
"One of our registrars went to Australia to do more training and we were keen to get him back but could not guarantee a job. We made him an offer but he had just taken a job in Queensland at twice the starting salary we could offer him and thus he felt for the sake of his family he should stay there...but I think in a different economic climate he and his family would have preferred to come back and he had some unique skills which we would have loved to have, so a significant loss."
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