Industrial action could be on cards: senior docs

Media release

Industrial action could be on the cards for senior doctors

Senior doctors say the District Health Boards have woefully underestimated the depth of their concerns and their willingness to act in the face of a specialist staffing crisis in New Zealand hospital and the pressure it is placing on services and patients.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director, Ian Powell says the first five meetings of the planned 26 have been extraordinarily well attended and no doctor has voted to accept the DHBs position.

"The turn out has been way beyond our expectation and all the meetings have voted unanimously to condemn the DHBs failure to negotiate genuinely, and all have voted either unanimously or overwhelmingly to hold a national ballot on industrial action. "

Ian Powell says senior doctors are very uncomfortable about being put in the position of having to hold stopworks as well as facing the prospect of industrial action. But increasingly many believe there is no option.

"We have been meeting with the DHBs and telling them that the salaries and conditions in our hospitals are making recruitment and retention of senior doctors very difficult and it is impacting on the services our hospitals can offer."

"But after more than a year of talks and of mediation, we are at an impasse. Senior doctors would rather see a return to genuine negotiation, but they have made it clear they will consider industrial action."

Ian Powell says the DHBs may not see the gravity of senior doctors leaving New Zealand for better pay and conditions - but patients do.

"What senior doctors find extremely frustrating is the fiscal irresponsibility of DHBs. To cover for shortages they are prepared to spend taxpayers' money on the most expensive sticking plaster imaginable. They employ temporary doctors (locums) whose all up costs are about three times the cost of a permanent senior doctor. Over the past six years the cost of all locum doctors doubled to over $100 million. It would be much cheaper to employ senior doctors on improved remuneration and conditions of employment.

"The brain drain will continue without some positive action from the DHBs. Senior doctors firmly believe that the only way to preserve the quality of hospital services for their patients is for the DHBs to offer competitive pay and conditions."

This week, seven stopwork meetings will be held, the first involving Hutt Valley DHB senior doctors on Monday. The week's schedule is as follows.

Monday Hutt Valley DHB

Tuesday Counties Manukau DHB

Wednesday Capital and Coast DHB

Thursday Canterbury DHB (Ashburton only)

Thursday Southland DHB

Friday Hawkes Bay DHB

Friday West Coast DHB (Greymouth only)

ENDS

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