By Dylan Thorne Tauranga leukaemia patient Paige Golledge will today travel to Auckland for vital treatment the six-year-old missed out on because of a week-long laboratory workers' strike. The Welcome Bay girl was to be taken to Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital today as the seven-day strike comes to an end. Paige, 6, hasbeen fighting leukaemia since June last year and is supposed to have the cancer fighting drug methotrexate injected into her spine every three months. She was supposed to have the procedure last week but to her mother Rachael's dismay, it had to be postponed because of the lab workers' strike. Mrs Golledge said she was pleased her daughter would be receiving the injection but still felt the strike should not have taken place. "They [the health board] should have just given them more pay ... they've got a pretty important job. It's pretty sad they have to go on strike." Paige would receive the injection after being assessed by an oncologist and having a blood test. "Fingers crossed she will receive her treatment," Mrs Golledge said. The strike came just days after the Make-A-Wish-Foundation helped Paige fulfil her dream of watching whales and dolphins in Kaikoura. Paige's treatment was delayed because blood supplies at Starship were affected. Seventeen workers at Whakatane Hospital were among 1200 Medical Laboratory Workers Union members nationwide who went on strike. The workers want a 5 per cent pay rise and a starting rate of $45,000 a year, up from $40,000, but district health boards have offered an average of 5.5 per cent over two years. It was the fourth strike in the health sector this year and follows industrial action by radiographers and junior hospital doctors, while a 90-minute strike will be held by members of the Service and Food Workers Union from midday on December 13. No lab staff at Tauranga Hospital were involved in the current industrial action as they are all privately contracted through Medlab but the strike did effect the hospital's blood supplies. Bay of Plenty District Health Board contingency planner Kerri Freeman said the strike had been managed smoothly. There had been only one instance where blood was required for emergency surgery, she said. "We're pleased that to say that the contingency plans have worked according to plan," she said. The health board would assess what impact the strike had on elective services.
