The first permanent appointment has been made to the newly established South Island neurosurgery service.
A heated debate about the future of neurosurgery in Dunedin ended last year with a decision by the Health Ministry to have a South Island service delivered from Dunedin and Christchurch.
Dunedin is to have up to three neurosurgeons, but two people appointed before the decision later pulled out.
The Southern District Health Board says Ahmad Taha, who has been working as a locum consultant neurosurgeon in Dunedin since July last year, has taken a permanent appointment there.
