Surgeons paid $2500 a day

Locum surgeons on the West Coast are earning up to $2500 a day — $1000 more than the Prime Minister and about 25 times that of the median income in Greymouth.
The huge pay packet — $2500 a day equates to $650,000 a year — is believed to be going only to a select few. Grey Base Hospital employs three general surgeons, and additional orthopaedic surgeons.
The West Coast District Health Board expects to spend $6.8 million in the coming year on “outsourcing” doctors.
Locums can also claim additional travel and accommodation costs,
such as the two anaesthetists who are flown from South Africa and back
each month.
Green Party MP Kevin Hague, who was chief executive for the West Coast DHB before entering Parliament, said today that locums were incredibly expensive to hire.
Those considering fulltime employment had no incentive to do so, he said.
“The DHB is trapped in a spiral — the more they pay, the more they’re going to be forced to pay in the future.”
Mr Hague said senior doctors earned “far, far more” than managers based at Greymouth, and had done so for a long time.
Orthopaedic surgeons, in particular, charged a “huge amount”.
The New Zealand Herald reported today that the highest paid employee at the Auckland DHB earned $195,441. Specialists typically earn about $1000 a day.
The West Coast DHB has predicted a deficit of $7.2 million for the coming year.
It hopes closer ties with Canterbury will reduce its reliance on locums in the future.
At the last census, the median income for the Grey district was $21,200.
However, even the highly-paid
locums are not the highest paid earners on the West Coast:
* The highest paid at Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products took home $700,000 to $800,000 last year.
* Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder was paid $1.3 million.
* All Blacks captain Richie McCaw earns about $2300 a day — $600,000 a year.
* Prime Minister John Key gets $1511 a day — $393,000.