Junior doctors at Whangarei Hospital plan to strike for a week later this month as they increase pressure over a 20 per cent pay claim and serious patient safety concerns.
Whangarei Hospital junior doctor and Resident Doctors' Association spokesman Dr Ian Rosemergy said 14 days' notice to strike had been given to hospital management yesterday.
The strike was to start on August 22 and would affect 39 of 45 junior doctors working at Whangarei Hospital.
Dr Rosemergy said the strike decision had not been made lightly and came after pay negotiations, which began about two months ago, reached an impasse.
Junior doctors' claims included a 20 per cent pay rise, a review of training conditions while working and employer help to meet some of the cost of specialist training.
Northland Health had countered with an offer of a 3 per cent pay rise now, another 3 per cent in eight months and a further 3 per cent in November next year.
However, Dr Rosemergy said that offer was conditional on junior doctors forgoing all their other claims and was unacceptable. He said like other centres nationally, the hospital was struggling to retain junior doctors who were leaving for better-paid overseas positions.
Junior doctors working at Whangarei typically had student loan debts of about $80,000 and were struggling to cover "huge gaps" in staff rosters, with some working up to 75 hours a week.
"We really seriously believe that over this winter patient safety has been compromised because of the lack of junior doctors," he said.
Asked how junior doctors could justify a strike if they believed patient safety was at such risk, Dr Rosemergy said that issue was of concern but "we believe senior staff will be providing cover."
- NZPA
Pay, safety sparking strike say doctors
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