KEY POINTS:
Public hospital patients are in for another dose of industrial disruption in a fortnight, after junior doctors issued legal notice yesterday of their second strike over pay.
The next walkout, to start at 7am on May 7, will be slightly longer - 49 hours - but is likely to cause a similar number of cancellations to the more than 8000 elective surgery cases and outpatient visits deferred by the first strike, which ends tomorrow morning.
The threat of a second strike - and possibly more - incensed district health boards, which said it "beggared belief".
Boards spokesman David Meates said the Resident Doctors' Association should focus on resolving the dispute rather than trying to prolong it.
But the union maintains that its industrial action, although disruptive to patients, is vital to improve pay and conditions to ensure adequate numbers of junior doctors stay on as permanent DHB employees to become New Zealand's GPs, surgeons and specialists of the future.
"If we wait any longer," said general secretary Deborah Powell, "then patients will not be negatively affected only during the strike action, but on a daily on-going basis."
Hospitals, which are largely restricted to acute and emergency services, reported coping well yesterday with the walkout by more than 2000 junior doctors.
"Across the hospital, things are very much under control," said Nettie Knetsch, a senior manager at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland.
Auckland City Hospital's general manager of operations, Ngaire Buchanan, said the adult emergency department was "fairly full" yesterday morning, although the hospital's occupancy was, at 82 per cent, in the target range for the strike of 80-85 per cent.
The union's national executive said threats had been made against strikers at some Auckland hospitals and at Waikato Hospital, but Dr Powell played down these "couple of instances" and said senior doctors had been "incredibly supportive".
The union wants three 10 per cent pay rises over three years and other improvements. DHBs say this would increase their costs by 40 per cent in total.
The boards have withdrawn all offers during the strike.
STRIKE DATES
* Junior doctors' 48-hour strike ends tomorrow at 7am.
* Next strike, for 49 hours, will start on May 7.
