Radiographers' strike strains hospitals

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Judi Lambourne arrived at Auckland Hospital's emergency department well-prepared for the two-day radiographers' strike, which is disrupting services in four hospitals.

It was a case of bring your own x-rays for patients such as the Freeman's Bay woman, who was referred to the hospital from a private accident clinic with an infected broken toe.

Unlike during a four-day walkout by radiographers a fortnight ago, Auckland Hospital is accepting limited numbers of trauma patients rather than diverting them to strike-free Middlemore Hospital.

But doctors say this does not mean there is any less danger to the public and they are anxiously looking forward to the end of the strike at 7am tomorrow.

In fact, they say the risk may even be higher as the region's hospitals are busier than last time and less able to cope with emergencies.

Auckland emergency department clinical director Dr Peter Freeman welcomed Ms Lambourne arriving with her x-rays, seeing it as a sign that accident clinics were playing their part.

He said that although the hospital could accept a "modest trauma workload", clinical concern about the risk to patients from the strike was increasing.

He said a multiple car crash would cause difficulties.

The hospital had enough non-striking radiographers to cope with only one major trauma patient at a time, so ambulances were under instructions to take others elsewhere.

"There is a feeling we have been lucky so far, but that it is only a matter of time before somebody may be seriously disadvantaged," Dr Freeman said.

"We are getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of resolution to the strike."

Planning for a two-day strike was perhaps even more fraught than for the earlier and longer one, said Dr Freeman. It was harder to justify such a large number of cancelled elective surgery operations to clear the way for emergencies.

He had also been advised that there were enough non-striking radiographers to operate only the slower of his hospital's two CT scanners.

However union secretary Deborah Powell denied this and later information from the hospital suggested a very limited ability to use the other.

About 90 of Dr Powell's members are on strike for a 10.3 per cent pay rise, which compares with an offer that the Auckland District Health has repackaged within a Government requirement to keep cost rises to an average of 2 per cent. The 90 staff plan to strike again in a fortnight.

The board's message to patients that they should visit their general practitioners first, short of a genuine emergency, has apparently not been getting through to parents of sick children turning up at the Starship hospital.

Board chief executive Graeme Edmond said hospitals were generally coping adequately, apart from Starship's emergency department, which was quite busy.

Auckland Hospital intensive care clinical director Dr Colin McArthur said he believed risk levels were "a bit higher" than in the last strike, when hospitals were unusually quiet.

Although some patients were discharged from his 14-bed unit yesterday, new arrivals meant nine beds were occupied last night, with another admission expected.

Just one new arrival was from the outside community, compared with three from elsewhere in the hospital, representing emergency cases that were being treated before the strike but had became critical yesterday.

Hospitals outside the board's territory remained ready to help if necessary, but Dr McArthur said Auckland had less ability to send patients elsewhere as a precaution before this strike, as considerable outside capacity was left idle last time after being put on standby.

The radiographers' walkout, and a threat by Timaru Hospital's senior doctors to hold a series of half-day strikes, brought a renewed call by National yesterday for Health Minister Annette King to intervene.

"The Health Minister cannot sit by and wait for a tragedy to happen," said National's health spokeswoman, Dr Lynda Scott.

"She must meet the parties and see first-hand what her mismanagement of the health system is doing."

Dr Powell repeated a challenge to the health board to refer the radiographers' dispute to arbitrators, as also favoured by 91 per cent of 159 doctors who replied to a poll by Auckland Hospital intensive-care specialist Dr Les Galler.

Mr Edmond said that if the board submitted to arbitration, it would still have to recognise Government financial constraints prompted by his organisation's $61 million deficit.

Further reading
Feature: Our sick hospitals