Hospitals work out crisis plan

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Health boards have begun feverish contingency planning for what could prove the most disruptive strike in the history of public hospitals.

Airlifting critically ill patients to Australia or using private hospitals may be considered if more than 2000 junior doctors walk out for six days from Tuesday, November 2, on their first national strike.

All 21 of the country's district health boards will be targeted by the doctors, who say they are being worked off their feet and want reduced hours in place of a pay rise.

Boards spokeswoman Jean O'Callaghan said 27 per cent more junior doctors were on duty now than five years ago and working conditions were "pretty favourable" compared with those overseas.

The boards yesterday proposed a return to negotiations before a mediator next Wednesday, less than a week before the strike, but it is understood there are moves to restart talks earlier.

Ms O'Callaghan at first said the boards needed more time to assess the cost of union claims, which she insisted were presented in final form only in the past week, a suggestion denied by Resident Doctors Association secretary Deborah Powell.

"We tabled all our claims on May 17. I can show you the documentation," Dr Powell said.

"They've crunched the numbers at least twice before, but the problem was that their figures were inaccurate and they took them away."

Clinical directors and hospital managers began contingency meetings yesterday.

Most said it was too early to tell whether they could offer more than emergency services, or when they would have to start postponing non-urgent surgery, but Auckland City Hospital has set next Wednesday as its cut-off date.

Hospital operations manager Ngaire Buchanan said elective surgery would stop then, but theatres would work overtime until the strike to clear acute and emergency cases.

She said private hospitals might be asked to take patients, and did not rule out flying some to Australia.

Neither did Ms O'Callaghan, whose Canterbury District Health Board flew some patients to other parts of New Zealand during a nurses' strike in 2002 but would not have that option if doctors walked out nationally.

Senior doctors warn through their union they will be hard-pressed to provide enough safe emergency cover for six days.

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is calling on the Government to bring forward the December 1 enforcement date of a health sector code of good faith under new industrial law, requiring striking unions to provide life-preserving patient services.

"Urgent Government action is required if the catastrophic national six-day strike is not to be a complete disaster for patients," executive director Ian Powell said as Parliament was due last night to pass the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill through its final reading.

A spokesman for Health Minister Annette King said her policy stood of not commenting on industrial issues.

Claims over hours

* The doctors want to work no more than 10 days in a row, rather than 12 now, and have a break in their rosters of seven consecutive 10-hour night shifts.

* Doctors also want 30 days' leave a year, compared with 22 to 26 now.