However, Health Minister Simeon Brown said it was a “disappointing” development after eight months of negotiations and had disrupted patients’ healthcare across the country.
Brown said an estimated 4300 procedures, such as hip and knee operations, were delayed because of the strike but life-preserving services continued in hospitals.
“There are too many New Zealanders waiting too long,” Brown said about the country’s lengthy healthcare waitlists.
Health Minister Simeon Brown says the nationwide healthcare strike does not help address the issue of waitlists. Photo / Cameron Pitney
In February, the Herald reported all of the country’s hospital emergency departments were failing to assess patients with “imminently” or “potentially” life-threatening conditions on time.
Staff shortages, overcrowding and hospital bed block contribute to delays, causing poor outcomes for patients and staff burnout.
“This Government inherited waitlists which had ballooned beyond measure under the last Government,” Brown said.
“We have an enormous task to get on top of those waitlists. The strike action does not help address that.”
Brown said Health NZ had made a “credible offer” to the union, which included establishing bonding for senior doctors who moved to hard-to-staff regions and removing the lower pay steps for senior doctors to ensure they were earning more than junior doctors.
Whangārei home caregiver Sharon Clements was among those showing unity for better health services, in addition to the nationwide strike by Association of Salaried Medical Specialists senior doctors. Photo / Denise Piper
“In fact, a first-year specialist would have got a 9.5% pay increase, around $17,000 pay increase this year, under the offer.”
Brown said he wanted to see the issue resolved, saying: “My message to the union is get back around the negotiating table.
“That is the place [where] these issues should be resolved rather than what we’ve seen today.”
He said Health NZ had applied to the ERA for urgent facilitation.
“That is the next step of this process to resolve these issues, and I encourage both parties to get around the table to resolve these issues.”
ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton told the Herald hospital specialists were seeking a 12% pay rise but were being offered an increase of less than 1% per year.
She said the No 1 issue for members was the high vacancy rates for senior doctors.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists chief executive Sarah Dalton says scary levels of senior doctor vacancies are not being addressed. Photo / Supplied
“Our members never want to go on strike. What they want to do is see patients and make sure they get the treatment they need.
“The sorry facts of the matter are that every single week, thousands of patients miss out on care who should be getting it.
“What happened today is simply an example of what happens, without necessarily being reported every single week in our health system, due to understaffing and underfunding.”
Dalton estimated much of the ASMS membership participated in the strike, saying: “I know that there were very few senior doctors at work today.
Senior doctors and nurses strike outside Auckland City Hospital. Photo / Jason Dorday
“I was on the pickets in Wellington – so I was talking with our members ... who were really encouraged by the strong public support that they got shown even in this horrible weather.
“I think what the public understands, and I think what health leaders need to think more carefully about is, our health system stands or falls on the availability of trained and qualified health workforce.
“Senior doctors are a critical part of that, and there are really scary levels of vacancies that are not being addressed.”
Dalton said she did not mind the issue going to the ERA. This would be the third time in three or four years the two parties have been before the ERA. The parties’ previous two rounds of bargaining also ended in facilitation processes.
“I think that what the difference is going to be [is] whether or not Health New Zealand is prepared to increase the amount of money that is on the table.
“It may not be that we achieve 12%, but if we can’t achieve better than what is on offer at the moment, we will not be able to settle this.”
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
