Hospitals prepare for nurses' strike

Medical directors insist that they are as prepared as they can be ahead of a national nurses strike this Thursday.

The New Zealand Nurses Organization (NZNO) yesterday rejected the latest salary offer from the District Health Board, claiming that more money was being paid. necessary to avoid strikes

As negotiations proceed, life-saving plans are also provided for during the 24-hour action scheduled tomorrow at 7 am

John Tait , Chief Medical Officer of the Capital and Wellington Coast. 8000 elective procedures at the national level will have to be postponed.

This would pose major challenges for the country's 20 DHBs, but the medical directors insisted that they are as prepared as they can be, he said. .

Sue Hayward A health and midwifery officer from the Waikato District Health Board said that an agreed number of nurses would work during the strike – a step taken with support NZNO

"The purpose of the emergency plan is to make sure we have the right number of nurses with the right skills and knowledge to activate life preservation services. with all our patients in the seven hospitals we monitor. "

If any of the nurses got sick, the hospital had staff to fill those who were sick,"

The director of the Starship 's child health, Dr. Mike Shepherd, said that the Auckland District Health Board was as well prepared as it could be.

"We have planned for the last few weeks. We must reduce the number of patients at the hospital and ensure that we are able to provide safe services during the strike period.

"We do not have the exact number of patients who have been reported at this stage, but it's certainly in the hundreds of"

The hospital had an almost complete list of life preservation services, and was confident that he could ensure the safety of patients, he said.

Dr. Vanessa Thornton, chief medical officer at Counties Manakau DHB, said acute services would be a priority during the strike.

"Obviously the elective side of services will be canceled because we will not be able to provide this service.Winter is a busy time for us and so we have prepared our services to preserve our life and our Sharpness. "

Hugh Lees, Chief Medical Officer of the Bay of Plenty DHB, said he had a reasonable idea of ​​the number of patients" We will need to see the day but at the same time I think we have done a lot of good planning for that and as long as the numbers are in this we are expecting a Thursday at this time of year, we should be able to handle. "

Dr. Thornton said that while hospitals were prepared, the day itself would prove difficult.

" I think it's going to be very stressful. As I said, we have emergency measures and we are making arrangements, hopefully, to provide care to the patients in the hospital. "