Fear homicides may be missed
Forensic pathologists are concerned a proposed restructure of the national forensic pathology service will lead to miscarriages of justice and homicides being missed, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says.
It says the service is on the brink of collapse, a situation worsened by Justice Minister Andrew Little refusing to intervene over a restructure proposed by the Ministry of Justice.
Little and the ministry have rejected the allegations, with Little describing claims by association executive director Ian Powell as inaccurate and ‘‘a total exaggeration’’.
Powell said the ministry had, for the past seven years, dragged out the process of determining the national forensic pathology service’s future setup – including how it will be run, resourced and funded. It now proposed dismantling and fragmenting the service over four providers, he said.
That would affect forensic pathologists’ ability to determine the cause of death in situations that are unclear or complex, or where it’s suspected a crime might have occurred, Powell said.
The situation stemmed from the ministry’s fumbling of contractual arrangements for the service, he said. ‘‘Their decision is driven by a deadly combination of bureaucratic incompetence and an ideological belief that a commercial ‘free-market’ approach will sort things out.’’
Seven forensic pathologists are part of the national service. They are employed by the Auckland District Health Board, which holds the national contract. They perform and report on autopsies for the police and coroners in cases of suspicious or complex death and homicide. They deal with about 150 forensic cases annually.
The service has been underresourced for some time, and the ministry’s plans to replace the national approach with different providers would remove its capacity to provide a co-ordinated and consistent back-up service to cover staff sickness and leave, Powell said. ‘‘There’s a worldwide shortage of forensic pathologists and the unsettled situation with the service here makes it very difficult to recruit suitably trained people or to keep them once they come to New Zealand.’’
Ministry chief operating officer Carl Crafar said the Government allocated $7 million in Budget 2018 to fund more resources, and to provide for up to 10 full-time equivalent forensic pathologists and three forensic trainee posts. It was part of moves to provide an improved and more resilient service, he said. The positions would be based in Canterbury, Auckland and Wellington, based at a mix of DHBs and privately owned providers.
There was no driver towards a ‘‘free-market’’ ideology; rather a recognition of the advantages of using a number of providers, Crafar said. Providers will be expected to manage staff absences from within their own entity but there are arrangements in place so that if a pathologist is unavailable, coverage is provided by other service providers.
That could continue under the new contracts, he said.
Little said Powell’s claims were inaccurate and a exaggeration. He met the association and a clinical specialist earlier this year. Nothing said at that meeting convinced him that the ministry’s approach was flawed.
Changes to the pathology service will be phased in from October. Contracts are initially for seven years but extendable to 13 years to provide certainty to providers and enable them to recruit and retain staff to alleviate longstanding issues, Crafar said.