Urgent Government Action Required On Resident Doctors Strike
“Urgent government action is required if the catastrophic national six day strike is not to be a complete disaster for
patients,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today.
“The Employment Relations Law Reform Bill currently before Parliament includes a health sector code of good faith. This
code contains requirements for organising contingency staffing arrangements for providing life-preserving patient
services in the event of strikes.”
“This code of good faith is a very good document but will only take effect from 1 December. The government and other
political parties need to agree to amend this date in order to make its effect immediate.”
“Parliament has to act with urgency today to ensure that a patient safety disaster might be averted,” concluded Mr
Powell.