Orthopaedic surgeon resigns post

Press, 22 April 1980, Page 27

Orthopaedic surgeon resigns post

Health reporter One of the Christchurch orthopaedic surgeons who earlier this month severely criticised the orthopaedic unit at the Christchurch Hospital has resigned.

Mr A, L. Panting, a tutoi; specialist in orthopaedics, has been at the Christchurch Hospital for more than nine years. He will take up a senior post with the Nelson Hospital Board in July. Mr Panting was one of two orthopaedic surgeons at the hospital who said on April 1 that they had considered resigning because of their dissatisfaction with the progress made by the North Canterbury Hospital Board to provide better facilities fori orthopaedic patients and staff.

Mr Panting and Dr R. Coates, an orthopaedic tutor, said that Christchurch Hospital’s orthopaedic wards (Ward 1 and Ward 3) were “unacceptable.” They also thought the future of orthopaedic surgery there was “grim.”

The Hospital Board has not decided on when a solution to the problem might be found. ■

Hopes are falling that because of the economic climate the board will get the required extra $400,000 from the Government this year to build a temporary extension to Ward 7. It is needed to give space for 20 orthopaedic beds once the 63-year-old Chalmers block is demolished later this year. Ward 7 and Ward 8 will be “holding wards” for orthopaedic cases until the proposed S2SM ward block is completed in about 10 years. The two wards will only be able to take 60 beds, compared with 80 in the Chalmers block.

Without the $400,000 temporary building the hospital board may be forced to take space from another ward or continue to spread orthopaedic patients throughout other hospital wards, a procedure which has already drawn strong criticism by medical staff.