Seventy-five Northland junior doctors have gone on strike today after talks among their union and district health boards over negotiations about pay and working hours failed.
The junior doctors plan to strike for 73 hours, beginning at 7am and finishing at 8am on Friday, and it follows a strike by doctors in October regarding what they say are unsafe working hours.
Northland District Health Board chief medical officer Dr Michael Roberts said while there were 75 resident medical officers, or doctors in training, striking 29 others had chosen to keep working. Some of those were union members while some were not.
Whangarei Hospital was the only hospital affected by the strike and senior doctors from Kaitaia would be travelling to Whangarei to help cover essential services.
Mr Roberts said the strike action had meant many services had to be rescheduled and more than more than 150 outpatient appointments and more than 40 operations had been postponed.
But he reassured the public the action did not affect any emergencies and senior doctors would cover all emergency work that was needed to keep patients safe.
"Please assist them by taking your non-urgent care to your general practitioner or White Cross," Mr Roberts added.
He said the DHB apologised for any distress caused to patients and their families.
"Outpatients whose appointments are deferred may be waiting to hear the results of investigations about which they are concerned, they may be waiting for an assessment to determine whether they have cancer or serious heart disease."