Exclusive: Psychiatrist Questions Waikato DHB's Capacity to Execute Its' Third Medical School Proposal.

Tim Owen
News

Concern is mounting among medical professionals about the joint proposal from Waikato DHB and Waikato University to open a third New Zealand medical school based in the Waikato.  In an exclusive, bombshell interview with Right Minds NZ, Doctor Caleb Armstrong, a psychiatrist and former employee of Waikato DHB, has questioned the capability of the organisation to train and retain Doctors at the post graduate level currently, and suggests that this should cast doubt on their capacity to successfully execute their proposal.  

Supporters of the proposal highlight the acute shortage of homegrown Doctors entering General Practice and the great difficulty rural areas and regional centres have in recruiting and retaining  both General Practitioners and Specialists.  They also point to the number of Doctors due to retire in the next few years, which will exacerbate the problems. 

There are serious doubts being expressed about whether a third medical school for New Zealand is a viable proposition.  Professor Peter Crampton, Dean of Otago Medical School, writing in the New Zealand Medical Journal explained that “There is considerable potential to inflict net harm on our rather fragile and stressed health system by inserting a third medical school into the mix without first undertaking very careful analysis and planning."  

Professor Crampton is predictably, given his position, tactful and cautious in his criticism. Dr Armstrong, however, did not pull any punches when Right Minds NZ asked him about Waikato DHB's history of developing homegrown medical talent.  "A lot of commentators have argued from statistics, logic, and first principles when discussing this topic, and this is appropriate for those with a vested interest in the decision such as representatives of the existing medical schools. However, I believe that a full discussion of the proposal also needs to focus on Waikato DHB itself."  

Dr Armstrong highlights the DHB's dismal record in retaining Doctors they have trained "Waikato DHB is not good at retaining doctors they have trained, seeming to actually prefer employing unknown overseas doctors rather than people who have been trained there. This is something I observed at first hand for several years as a trainee in psychiatry at Waikato DHB. Furthermore, the DHB is not sufficiently committed to the post-graduate training of doctors to maintain training a programme in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, another crucial specialty. The hospital's accreditation for Orthopaedic Surgery training now hangs in the balance. Before Waikato DHB is given a lot of taxpayer's money to compete with established, quality medical schools, I would suggest that it work towards retaining a greater percentage of doctors who train there and demonstrating its commitment to post-graduate training of doctors." 

Waikato DHB was stripped of its accreditation for obstetrics and gynaecology in December 2015 after failing to meet three of seven standards set by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG). The organisation also hit the headlines when they employed a fake psychiatrist who was subsequently convicted of fraud but who nevertheless practiced at the DHB for several months.  These are just a couple of episodes in a long list of examples of poor leadership, management or governance which have plagued the DHB in recent years.

Dr Armstrong was emphatic that "The government would be very wise to question the DHB's ability to train and retain doctors at the postgraduate level before entrusting them with the fate of one third of the nation's medical students."

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Tim Owen