Senior doctors say Wellington District Health Board is not filling dozens of vacant positions for specialist doctors.
"It's become the norm that we have entrenched shortages in our public health system, and it's become the norm that specialists are overworked," Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell said.
"One of the results of that is that we actually have a 50 percent burnout rate of specialists in our public hospitals, which is an appalling situation."
