Starship Children's Hospital in Auckland. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Senior doctors have thrown doubt on solutions to bullying allegations at Starship Children's Hospital.
There had been multiple allegations of bullying and harassment of staff at the unit, Te Puaruruhau, which treated abused children.
The allegations triggered a WorkSafe investigation early this year.
Health New Zealand said it had met Worksafe's October 22 deadline to make improvements.
This included putting in better health and safety systems and training around "psychosocial" risks.
But the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) said unions had been "left out".
"Not involving unions in health and safety improvements in these kind of circumstances is highly irregular and we can't be assured that any improvements notified have been arrived at through a process of robust worker engagement," it said.
Psychosocial risks included bullying, overwork and fatigue.
Worksafe issued an improvement notice in April after finding the unit had "no effective system" to deal with the risks workers had complained to it about, after going through a couple of years of conflict.
"The notice has been closed as complied with. WorkSafe will check in again in March 2026 to review ongoing progress," HNZ said on Wednesday.
WorkSafe said Health NZ had provided it with written proof of the systemic changes it had made.
"Our inspector is satisfied with [this]," said the head of its inspectorate, Rob Pope.
Health NZ was best placed to spell out its improvements, he said.
"While the notice has been resolved, we acknowledge that managing psychosocial risks is complex and takes time. A layered approach is needed to rebuild trust and embed lasting change."
It would check back next March, Pope said.
About a dozen staff had complained to WorkSafe, or boycotted HNZ management for months early this year. RNZ revealed this, and heard from one ex-employee who said services to children had suffered while this went on.
Several senior doctors and other staff left amid the strife, and the unit has not had a permanent leader for months.
That had changed, with the appointment of a new clinical director.
Further recruitment was underway, the agency said.
"We remain committed to ensuring the changes made are meaningful and long-lasting, and to maintaining a safe, supportive, and respectful environment for our people," Dr Michael Shepherd, Auckland Metro Te Toka Tumai group director of operations said.
The ASMS questioned what was going on.
"HNZ didn't invite or involve the unions in this," it said.
"We have sought a response from them as to why this was the case and whether WorkSafe is aware of that, but haven't heard back."
RNZ approached Health NZ for comment on that.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
