0800 number for patients to check re strike

12 June 2006

0800 number for patients to check whether their surgery or hospital clinic appointment will be affected by junior doctors strike

Hawke’s Bay District Health Board has set up a free 0800 number so Hawke’s Bay people can check whether their outpatient appointment or elective surgery has had to be postponed due to this week’s planned strike by junior doctors.

The number is 0800 450 113 and will be answered during working hours, between 8.00am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday After hours people can leave a message which should include your name, planned appointment/procedure, date of same and your contact phone number.

The strike is scheduled to take place from 7:00am on Thursday 15 June and run until 7:00am on Tuesday 20 June.

Chief executive officer, Chris Clarke, said the DHB was sending out letters to those affected, but the hospital was still receiving a number of calls from concerned members of the public.

If the strike notice is withdrawn, some areas of the hospital will return very quickly to ‘business as usual’. For instance, patients whose elective surgery was postponed will be contacted to reconfirm their planned surgery.

However patients whose outpatient clinic appointment was postponed would be contacted to reschedule their appointment date and time.

Should the strike not proceed and patients are uncertain as to whether their booking is still going ahead or has been rescheduled they should phone 0800 450 113 to check their status.

ENDS

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