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Health New Zealand

Urologist Shortage Extends Beyond Southland, RACS Says

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The shortage of urologists reported in Southland is not confined to the region. In reporting published on October 1, 2026, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) chairperson Dr Sharon English pointed to regular locum use in Tauranga and Nelson as well. The examples show pressure in several places, but they are not a complete count of affected regions.

What is happening in Southland?

At the time of the October 1, 2026 report, Southland had no permanent full-time urologist. Health New Zealand was transferring patients as far as Christchurch and covering services with locums, according to RNZ reporting republished by the Otago Daily Times. The story said documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act disclosed the transfer and locum arrangements; the documents themselves are not available in the article for independent review.

The report put the locum rate in those arrangements at $3,000 per day. That is a figure reported for Southland’s arrangements, not an established standard rate for locum urologists elsewhere.

Why the issue is broader than one region

English told RNZ’s Morning Report that hospitals in Tauranga and Nelson also regularly used locums. She described the issue as affecting other rural areas, saying: “This is a problem that exists not only in Southland but other rural areas of New Zealand. There’s a lot of places with a shortage of urologists.”

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The report gives examples and English’s assessment, rather than a national census. It does not state vacancy counts for Tauranga or Nelson, so the scale of pressure in those hospitals cannot be compared with Southland from the published figures.

National estimates put the local report in context

Health New Zealand’s Health Workforce Plan 2024 medicine analysis estimated a national urology shortage of 15 specialists, or 13.3%, at the time of its analysis, and projected a shortage of 4.9% by 2033. These are modelled national estimates from the 2024 plan, not a live count of Southland vacancies or a measure of the situation in any one hospital.

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Retention and job certainty are part of the concern

English identified uncertainty about returning to a New Zealand job as a factor in trainee retention. She said trainees may go overseas for further specialist training and, if offered work there, decide to stay. In her account, New Zealand trainees may not know whether a job will be available when they return. This is her explanation of a workforce concern, not evidence that retention alone accounts for the shortage.

The report also notes that recruiting someone already working in New Zealand could leave another vacancy elsewhere. That makes the issue broader than filling a single post: the published account does not establish the relative contribution of training capacity, retention, regional working conditions, demand, operating capacity or funding.

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What Health New Zealand said about patients

Health New Zealand acknowledged that Southland patients were waiting longer than desired. It said patients were triaged according to clinical need and wait time, and stated its commitment to strengthening the urology workforce. The report did not provide detailed Southland wait-list data or a specific funded recruitment timeline, so it does not establish when permanent coverage might change.

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