General Surgeon | West Coast

Location: Te Nīkau Hospital, Greymouth | Employment type: Permanent, Full-time (1.0 FTE)

A unique surgical role in one of Aotearoa’s most beautiful and community-minded regions.

Join our dedicated surgical team on the West Coast, where your clinical skills will make a meaningful impact on a rural population that truly values its healthcare professionals. This role offers exceptional lifestyle benefits, professional variety, and the opportunity to work at the heart of a tight-knit community surrounded by mountains, national parks, and rugged coastline.

You will enjoy a rewarding mix of acute, elective, and outreach surgical work, with modern facilities at Te Nīkau Hospital and strong collegial links with the wider TransAlpine surgical service.

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

General Surgery on the West Coast is a small volume service (serving a population of only 32000).  You would be working alongside 3 other surgeons doing your share of outpatient, theatre and inpatient work.

Annually the team completes approximately 700 colonoscopies, 200 gastroscopies, and 250 elective theatre procedures. In outpatients they have 1000 patient attendances and deliver 300 minor operations.

About the Role

As a General Surgeon, you will provide high-quality surgical care to the West Coast community, working within a collaborative rural hospital environment supported by our established TransAlpine clinical arrangements.

Your day-to-day work will include acute general surgery on call, elective operating, outpatient clinics, endoscopy (this is key component of our work), and contributing to a cohesive multidisciplinary team. You will also support improved access to care for whānau through telehealth and coordinated regional pathways with the Canterbury surgical service.

This role is ideal for a surgeon who enjoys variety, autonomy, and the opportunity to make a real difference in a rural setting.

About the Team / Service / Location

Our West Coast surgical team is small, supportive, and highly skilled, delivering consistent, patient-centred care to a geographically diverse region. Through our TransAlpine partnership with Canterbury, you’ll work closely with colleagues in Christchurch who provide additional clinical support, ensuring safe and sustainable services for our local community. This will include a regular rotation to Christchurch on a scheduled basis (currently intended to be fortnightly for 2 days at a time). On these visits the surgeon will see patients whom we intend to operate on the coast and will have a dedicated theatre session per Christchurch visit.

Working in General Surgery will involve endoscopy (~200 cases per year) and weekly minor operations (such as skin lesion removal). You will be on call 1:4

For more information on living and working on the West Coast, click here.

About You

As a General Surgeon, you will bring:

• Registration (or eligibility for registration) with the Medical Council of New Zealand
• Advanced training and experience in General Surgery
• Strong teamwork, communication, and clinical decision-making skills
• A willingness to work in a rural setting and collaborate across multiple teams and sites

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of Aotearoa. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and serve our communities. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

How to Apply

To apply, please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers portal. For any questions about this role, please contact Dr Brendan Marshall brendan.marshall@wcdhb.health.nz or Amy Walker – Recruitment Specialist at Amy.Walker@tewhatuora.govt.nz.

We will review applications as they are received and may proceed with the recruitment process before the closing date.

Whilst Health New Zealand is undergoing change, affected employees will be given preference and priority for this position.