KEY POINTS:
An increase in the number of junior doctors showing up for work during the second day of strike action provided some welcome relief, a District Health Board (DHB) spokeswoman says.
More than 2000 doctors belonging to the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) return to work at 8am tomorrow at the end of the second two-day strike within a month.
RDA spokeswoman Deborah Powell was not available tonight but the prospect of further industrial action looms large unless a settlement can be reached.
The doctors wants 10 per cent a year for the next three years with the DHBs offering 4.25 per cent a year.
DHBs national co-ordinator of contingency planning Anne Aitcheson said today was busy but running smoothly.
She said patient numbers, especially amongst the elderly, generally picked up from the first strike with the cold snap.
But DHBs nationwide reported more junior doctors showed up for work during the past two days than during last month's strike.
Mrs Aitcheson said the extra hands on deck had been appreciated.
"Obviously when you've got a hospital that's full, the more staff you have the easier it is to manage the workload.
"I think people are tired. Many of the staff, especially the senior staff, do very long hours and I'm sure they will be pleased with the full staff return tomorrow."
DHBs spokesman David Meates said there was little progress to report from the past two days.
"At the moment we are concentrating on getting through until 8am tomorrow morning. Our focus will then go on to finding a way to get negotiations started again and trying to find a way through to a settlement," he said.
Senior doctors ended two years of negotiations today, voting to ratify a settlement with the DHBs. The deal included a 13.3 per cent pay rise over three years and an immediate lump sum payment of $10,000 as a "retention" bonus.
- NZPA
