Green Lane doctors ‘consider stopwork’

Press, 25 May 1989, Page 6

Green Lane doctors ‘consider stopwork’

PA Auckland The pioneering heart surgeon, Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes, says Green Lane doctors are seriously considering stopping work because of the plans to remove general surgical and medical services from the hospital. “I would fully support them if by doing so we can alter the course that is at present proposed by (Auckland Area Health Board commissioner) Harold Titter,” he said yesterday. “No decision has been made but the doctors are talking seriously about it because of their grave concerns for the future of the hospital and standards of patient care that will result if the plans go ahead.” The Opposition member of Parliament, Mr Bill Birch, told Parliament that members of the heart unit had met and decided to stop the heart services until uncertainty over Green Lane was resolved. Green Lane doctors have denied there is any threat to close the unit. The doctors are still bound by'Mr Titter’s threat of dismissal, but Sir Brian retired in January. Sir Brian said Green Lane would be demolished by the changes and yet savings would be minimal. “The medical wards to be transferred

will still have to be staffed in the same way. The beds are fully committed now and that load will have to be taken elsewhere. The same is essentially true of the transfer of accident and emergency services. “The total savings from this demolition of one of New Zealand’s premier hospitals will be possibly in the region of $2 million. “We have got to ask: ‘ls this what we want?’ Green Lane people believe this is going to destroy the hospital and the record of the hospital is such that this is unacceptable.” Sir Brian said the addition of Green Lane’s admission load on Auckland Hospital would lead to significant delays in the care of seriously ill patients. Some might even die as a result. An accountant’s study of Green Lane before the Alan Gibbs report had shown the hospital to be one of the three most efficient in New Zealand, he said. The Titter proposals spelt the end of the hospital’s cardiac centre as an effective specialist service. “My own view is that the staff of those surgical and cardiological units should refuse to provide services if the general services are removed. They would indicate they are not prepared to provide their specialist services in isolation.”