The union representing doctors says that patient conditions at Auckland’s Starship Children’s Hospital are not very safe because of a critical shortage of doctors.

Dr Abbey Jebb, New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) Auckland said that there are as few as three doctors attending to 60 children at any given time which has caused poor pediatric patient care.

The supposed staff of the hospital should have two consultants, three registrars and three house officers attending to its pediatric patients but Last Friday there was just one doctor of each discipline.

She said that last week a house officer was allocated to work on a night shift without senior support and it was “extremely unsafe” and placed a great deal of pressure on the sole officer.

She added, “Doctors are continually in bed crisis mode and decreasing already poor staffing levels will be a major setback for patients and a big mistake for management.”

DHB chief medical officer Margaret Wilsher said, "ADHB is aware that some shifts, including night duty, in the Starship Hospital have been covered by senior doctors where junior doctor locums are not available and thanks those doctors.”