Recently, a department at a hospital in New Zealand has sparked controversy due to worktime restrictions on communication. Health New Zealand Southern Department has reported that some employees feel uncomfortable and restricted during normal working hours because they cannot communicate freely with their colleagues.

According to Health New Zealand Southern's official statement, there is no policy against communication within the department. However, internal discussions indicate that certain work conditions may limit employees' freedom of communication. Sue Clark, team leader at Health NZ Southern, stated that the department has been in touch with Hywel Lloyd from South Area Medical Quality and Clinical Systems Solutions and plans to hold quarterly meetings to address these issues.

Despite Health NZ Southern's willingness to resolve the problem through internal channels, employee complaints have not been fully addressed. Disagreements between Unions and management have exacerbated employees' dissatisfaction with the management style. Health NZ Southern emphasized that this is a local issue being resolved in collaboration with affected employees and their employers.

Hywel Lloyd, speaking to RNZ, mentioned that over the past year, there have been no individual complaints about work environment or HR issues from employees. He noted that South Area Medical Record and Coding Department employees are generally satisfied with management practices, which he described as standard procedure.

Despite this, Health NZ Southern acknowledged its efforts to address these concerns and maintains open lines of communication with employee representatives to resolve issues at the lowest possible level and earliest stage.