Northland hospitals are gearing up for a planned strike by junior doctors next week, but one house surgeon thinks Northland could hold the key to the dispute.
Some services at Northland District Health Board hospitals at Whangarei and Kaitaia will be affected or cancelled if the strike goes ahead as planned
from June 15-20. The junior doctors' union, the Resident Doctors' Association, wants better conditions and shorter working hours.
The union's Northland delegate, Tristan Bennett, said an alternative roster trialled in Northland could be the answer to junior doctors' problems.
Dr Bennett, 27, is a house surgeon at Whangarei Hospital. He said the standard roster for junior doctors included 12 days without a break: Monday to Friday for eight to nine hours a day, followed by Saturday and Sunday of 15 hours a day, and another Monday to Friday of eight to nine hour days. They were also at times required to work seven night shifts in a row.
But under the trial roster favoured by Dr Bennett, doctors worked 10 days in a row, followed by four days off. Night shifts were done in three or four-night stints, followed by three days off.
"It was so much better," he said, and would be a "huge step" if the health boards would agree to such a roster nationwide.
"There's high expectations from everyone for a high standard, and that's fair enough. But it's hard to achieve that high standard when you're exhausted."
The present system made doctors worry about making mistakes, and dependent on coffee to keep going.
Northland District Health Board medical director Ian Brown said "high level contingency plans" were now under way that would mean Whangarei and Kaitaia Hospitals offering limited services, including emergency services, during the strike.
"Our number one consideration is patient care - maintaining urgent and acute care and minimising risks."
Non-urgent surgery and out-patient clinics at Whangarei and Kaitaia Hospitals would be affected and some services could be cancelled. All affected patients would be advised.
Dr Brown urged all non-urgent patients to seek help from their family doctor or nearest accident and medical centre before attending an emergency department.
"This will allow our emergency departments to treat emergencies as a priority."
The hospitals would accept women in labour, he said.
