Unions says demands have not been met

Wanganui hospital is one of 18 DHBs affected by the latest junior doctors strike which ended Friday.

The junior doctors strike finished on Friday morning but the union is prepared to take such action again.

The 73-hour strike involved 16 members of the Resident Doctors' Association at Whanganui Hospital who are seeking safer working hours.

In Thursday's Chronicle, Whanganui District Health Board chief executive Julie Patterson said that 20 health boards had agreed to union demands.

RDA vice-president Helen Saywell said yesterday that was not true. "If Julie had come to bargaining she would realise that's not the case."

Dr Saywell said the DHBs agreed to reduce junior doctor working hours from a maximum 12 working days in a row to 10 and seven night shifts in a row to four. But, in exchange, they wanted to change a doctor's job description and remove penal rates for night work.

"Its come at costs that are unacceptable and by that I mean changes and removals of some of our other safety provisions and protections that are also just as important."

Dr Saywell believed the offer made by health boards had more to do with punishing doctors than resolving the issue.

"You've got to look at the big picture because what we're actually interested in is the over all outcome and how well we're able to look after patients."

She said the union was prepared to compromise, just not on patient safety.

"We understand we'll be working less hours so the pay category is going to drop and everyone's fine with that."

A union survey last year found 1182 doctors were identified as having made a mistake as a result of work fatigue.

Mrs Patterson says New Zealand junior doctors have the best pay and working conditions in the western world.

"If that's so that's horrifying," says Dr Saywell

She says regardless of how you compare conditions overseas a survey done by the RDA shows a clear need for improved working conditions.

She says the union met with DHBs negotiation team 3 times last week, but they were unable to come to an agreement.