Junior doctors walkout looming
After more than a year locked in negotiations, the stalemate between junior doctors and district health boards is weeks away from further entrenching.
A 73-hour strike by junior, or resident, doctors is planned for January 17-20, following on from the 48-hour strike held in October.
The New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association says that as of March, its contract with DHBS will expire, leaving no collective contract option for new employees.
The strikes were prompted by resident doctors who say they are made to work unsafe hours 12 days in a row, and night shifts of seven days in a row.
Association national Secretary Dr Deborah Powell said negotiations came to a standstill again shortly before Christmas.
Powell said they had been in talks since December 2015.
‘‘We have been bargaining over a year now.’’
Their contract with DHBS had expired and was extended for a year while they were in talks.
However, after February, that will run out, meaning new employees will have to accept whatever contract the hospital offered.
Powell said the impending deadline added more pressure.
DHBS and the union spoke informally on Friday.
Powell said the DHBS had gone away to think further and more talks were planned for Tuesday.
‘‘It is better than not talking at all.’’
She was hopeful of reaching settlement before next week, but said it would depend on what happens on Tuesday. ‘‘We’ll have to wait and see.’’ Powell said resident doctors wanted the issue resolved and striking was a last resort.
The strike will see junior doctors walk off the job at 18 DHBS across the country. Taranaki and West Coast DHBS would not be affected by the strike.
A DHB Shared Services spokesman said they were still in informal talks with the union.
The spokesman acknowledged the pending deadline of the union’s contract was ‘‘in the mix as well’’. ‘‘That is putting additional impetus into the discussions.’’
He said contingency plans to cope with the strike were ‘‘well advanced’’. More information would be available after discussions on Tuesday, he said.
A previous statement from the DHBS said they had agreed to reduce the number of consecutive night and day shifts resident doctors can be rostered and to provide a contractual entitlement to recuperative time off.
The DHBS said the union wanted days off, which result from these changes, to be linked to weekend days off.
Midcentral DHB clinical services acting general manager Nicholas Glubb said a comprehensive plan had been developed to ensure continuity and safety of care during the strike period.
Senior medical staff will take direct responsibility for patient care during the strike, Glubb said.
He expected the level of additional work undertaken would be similar to the October strike.
‘‘Signwriting is such a changing art form. Everything used to be done by hand and people see signs all over the place, but they often don’t really look at them and see them for what they are, which is sometimes art.’’
Concerned that his work skills might be lost to future signwriters, the Palmerston North artist has produced a series of paintings that celebrate and document his work as an artist and commercial signwriter.
‘‘I was also recuperating after a hip operation and needed something to keep my mind busy. I got to really experiment.
‘‘My initial aim is to produce work that is big and bright. I am trying to create paintings that when displayed would lift a room.’’
Known for his realistic portrait paintings and pen and watercolour wash drawings, Hoare said these new works have taken him in a slightly different direction.
‘‘It’s me just experimenting with paint and having a bit of fun playing with colour. It’s been quite exciting because it is so different from what I have normally done.’’
Hoare is a self-taught artist who was recognised last year at the Feilding and District Art Society members exhibition where he won three awards for his paintings, including a premier award for best of show.
Given Time and Space: Abstracted Imagery, by Colin Hoare,runs at Taylor Jensen Fine Arts until January 31.