• Senior doctors and Auckland theatre nurses have voted to go on strike on May 1.
• 5500 senior doctors will strike for 24 hours, and 370 nurses will strike for 2 hours over pay and workforce issues.
• Health NZ says it is “very concerned” about the impact on patient care

Senior doctors and Auckland theatre nurses are planning on striking, potentially leading to thousands of planned surgeries, procedures, and appointments being cancelled or rescheduled.

Up to 5500 senior doctors will go on strike on May 1 over pay rates and workforce shortages.

About 370 perioperative nurses working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will also strike on the same day.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) chief executive Paul Goulter said Health NZ is attempting not to pay nurses for involuntary overtime.

“They are fed up with their goodwill being taken advantage of. They have sacrificed enough and want recognition for the years of work they have done.“

Goulter said the perioperative nurses have been doing involuntary and unpaid overtime for years because “they put their patients first”.

“Te Whatu Ora has now raised a last-minute claim in collective agreement negotiations which can only be seen as a shameful attempt to avoid paying these nurses appropriate compensation for working past their shifts to help patients having operations,” Goulter said.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) chief executive Paul Goulter. Photo / File

The senior doctors are being represented by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) in the union’s first 24-hour strike since it was established in 1989.

President of the Aotearoa NZ Committee at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Dr Hamish McCay said the Government doesn’t have a clear solution.

“A strike action is absolutely the last resort for healthcare workers. This decision highlights just how urgent the need for change is.”

McCay said the strike underscores concern that cuts to the health budget will worsen the healthcare workforce crisis.

“The Government’s Healthcare Workforce Plan recognises that we need at least an additional 3,450 doctors over the next nine years, yet the Government has not articulated a clear pathway to achieving that goal and has slashed the health budget.”

McCay said the demand for medical specialists has continued to grow at the same time that the healthcare system is facing a severe workforce shortage.

“This has meant that doctors and other health professionals have been navigating unsustainable workloads and inadequate working conditions.”

ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton said the union has been in bargaining with Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora since August, and the organisation had not moved “an inch”.

Hospital specialists were seeking a 12% pay rise, and Dalton said they were being offered around 1% to 1.5%.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists chief executive Sarah Dalton. Photo / Supplied

Dalton also said specialists with 15 years of experience were earning less than a first-year specialist in New South Wales.

“We’ve got people completing their training here in New Zealand, about to take up their first specialist appointment and contemplating a pay drop,” Dalton said. “It is important that specialists earn more than the doctors they are required to train and supervise.”

Dalton said little was being done to address worsening staffing gaps in hospitals. Shortages at regional hospitals in Nelson and Gisborne were at crisis levels.

Strike action “disappointing” - Health NZ

Auckland City Hospital group operations director Mike Shepherd said the two strikes may “potentially compound patient impact”.

Shepard described the strike action by the nurses as ”disappointing” and said “re-engaging in discussion” is the most effective way to “resolve outstanding issues”.

Contingency planning is under way to ensure safe care during the strike, but Shepard warned services could be impacted.

“If the senior doctors’ strike can’t be averted, thousands of planned surgeries, procedures and appointments would have to be cancelled or rescheduled.

“We will work with unions to ensure the continued delivery of critical hospital services continue and to minimise the impact of planned strikes on other patient care.”

Health NZ chief clinical officer Dr Richard Sullivan said if the strike went ahead, it could lead to 4300 elective surgeries or specialist appointments being cancelled. Between 3000 and 4300 radiology procedures could also be postponed.

Health Minister Simeon Brown expressed disappointment with the union, saying the strike would affect patient care.

“This isn’t how we fix the health system,” Brown said. “It’s a decision that will hurt patients.”

Health NZ advised patients that, unless contacted, they should attend any scheduled appointments or treatments. People with non-urgent health conditions should contact their GP in the first instance.

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.