Canterbury DHB prepared for second strike

Canterbury DHB prepared for second strike planned for next week by members of the RDA

Members of the New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) will go on strike from 7am on Tuesday 17 until 8am on Friday 20 January 2017.

Like all 18 of the District Health Boards affected, Canterbury DHB is well advanced in its contingency planning to ensure it continues to provide safe care during the 73-hour strike period from next Tuesday, when most Resident Medical Officers will withdraw their services.

Canterbury DHB employs about 533 Resident Medical Officers and understands approximately 75 percent are RDA members.

David Meates, chief executive, says continuing to provide safe care for patients during the strike remains the highest priority and focus for the Canterbury Health System.

“We are prioritising essential and acute services, which means that some outpatient appointments and elective surgeries are being rescheduled,” he says.
“Patients who have appointments or surgery booked during the strike period can expect to hear from Canterbury DHB, whether they are affected or not.

The Emergency Department (ED) at Christchurch Hospital will remain open during the strike.

“Canterbury people can help take some of the pressure off acute and emergency services during the strike period by phoning their General Practice team first for all non-urgent care. When you call your usual general practice number after hours your call will be answered by a nurse who can provide free health advice and if you need to be seen, they can tell you what to do and where to go for #carearoundtheclock.”

Patients who haven’t heard from us, but want to check if their surgery or outpatient appointment is going ahead next week should call 0800 778 226 from Monday 16 January. This line will be answered 8am – 5pm Monday – Thursday next week. After hours you can leave a message. You should state your name and NHI number (Your NHI number is on your appointment letter and contains three letters and four digits eg ABC 1234.)
ENDS

Note: at this stage we don’t have numbers of patients affected by this industrial action.

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