Junior doctor strikes cost $1 million a day
Senior doctors have stepped into the breach to cover extra shifts amid rolling strikes but the move is costing health board bosses big time.
Veteran doctors have been paid between $300 and $500 an hour to provide cover, with some making $4000 a shift.
Health chiefs across the country are set to stump up hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra pay to safeguard patient safety amid junior doctor strikes. The move means some district health boards (DHBs) will have to find funds not budgeted for.
It is estimated the strikes to date have cost the public health sector more than $1 million each day.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell said senior staff were facing increased pressure and ‘‘heavier workloads’’.
‘‘Strictly speaking, it is a choice [to work] but that choice is limited, particularly with patients whose care cannot be deferred due to the risk of death or permanent injury.’’
Senior doctors already at work who do additional work would be paid $300 an hour, and senior doctors who had to come into work during strikes would get $500 an hour, Powell said.
‘‘Our members are telling us that they are under intense and increasing pressure as they shoulder heavier workloads during strikes caused by the DHBs’ failure to reach an agreement,’’ he said.
The New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association (NZRDA) announced last Monday that it would undertake a further round of industrial action on February 26 and 27 after failed mediation between the union and district health boards.
Members were also being balloted on a potential fourth strike as they continued to campaign for more money and fewer work hours.
District health boards spokesman and Nelson Marlborough Health chief executive Peter Bramley said some boards did not budget for costs associated with strikes.
‘‘The financial impact of the strike is still to be determined. DHBs have expressed their gratitude to senior medical officers (SMOs) for their significant help during a series of strikes organised by the Resident Doctors’ Association ... SMOs have played a critical role in delivering emergency and acute services and minimising the impact on patients.
‘‘Prior to notification of the strikes, the union for senior doctors negotiated an additional hourly payment with DHBs to compensate SMOs who provide cover during the strike period, which results in onerous work.
‘‘Eligible SMOs are entitled to claim these additional payments from their DHB,’’ he said.
Up to 3000 junior doctors across the country had called for changes to rostering. Their union wanted to see the maximum number of days they could work cut from 12 to 10, with the number of night shifts cut from seven to four.
Powell said other senior doctors also communicated their frustration over a lack of progress to settle the dispute. ‘‘They are really under the pump to do more work ... DHBs need to urgently resolve this entirely avoidable situation.’’
He said the average yearly salary for a senior doctors working a 40-hour week was about $200,000. Junior registrars working for a DHB usually earned between $72,000 and $124,000 a year.