A senior doctor has told a conference there is too little time for compassion in modern healthcare and Government targets are not helping.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists president Hein Stander spoke to the annual meeting of the senior doctors' union in Wellington on Thursday.
Dr Stander told the meeting compassion is one of the pillars on which healthcare and humanity are built, and research has shown it helps patients recover.
But he said the current environment is one of tight budgets, contracts, letters of expectation and targets governing things like patient waiting times.
Dr Stander said doctors need time with patients, and an over-stretched workforce chasing targets amid increasing fiscal constraint isn't conducive to compassionate care.
He urged doctors to be well in themselves, so they can show compassion to others, because if they don't no one else will either.
