Today is the fourth day of the anaesthetic technicians' 120-hour strike that started at 8am on Monday morning, the latest of several strikes by DHB workers.
The DHB employs 11 anaesthetic technicians who mainly work in operating theatres helping anaesthetists.
They check and maintain the equipment and drugs available, help insert airway devices and tubes into veins and arteries, and act as patient advocates.
APEX, New Zealand's specialist allied, scientific and technical union, has already carried out two 24-hour strikes in the Lakes DHB this year, seeking higher wages and more rest between shifts.
Their strikes were limited to the Lakes DHB because anaesthetic technicians have district-specific agreements, not a national collective agreement.
Last week, a DHB spokeswoman said the DHB was "increasingly worried about the effect of the anaesthetic technicians' strike".
"Coming as it does, following three 48-hour strikes by junior doctors... Clinicians fear some patients whose surgery is delayed by repeated strike action may not have as good an outcome, as opposed to having received their surgery in a more timely manner."
At the time, the DHB had not yet finalised whether patients would be transferred elsewhere.
All elective and scheduled surgeries at Rotorua Hospital during the technicians' strikes, and junior doctors' strikes this year have been postponed.
The DHB estimated it was eight weeks behind schedule for non-urgent elective theatre procedures.
Last week, the spokeswoman could not confirm how much it would cost to transfer the patients.
"There is no way of knowing what patients will come to the emergency department with, what is required, and whether it will meet the criteria for 'Life Preserving Services'."
Southern Cross Rotorua confirmed it was one of the providers approached.
