News
Media Statements
30 July 2007
Waikato doctors show their dissatisfaction with biggest unanimous vote
More than 140 senior doctors from the Waikato met this morning in what was the 13th stopwork meeting of doctors being held around the country, exactly half-way through the 26 meetings which end on August 9.
The series of unprecedented stopwork meetings follow an impasse being reached with District Health Boards over negotiations for a new national collective agreement.
In the biggest unanimous vote to date the meeting gave the green light to a postal ballot of members being held on taking lawful national industrial action.
Association of Salaried Medical Specialist Executive Director Ian Powell says doctors around the country are making it very clear that something needs to be done now to address the shortage of senior doctors in
"Senior doctors have not been involved in stopworks before, and now they are signalling they are willing to take it to the next step as the depth of feeling is very strong. New Zealanders deserve to receive quality health care and our senior doctors are sending a clear message that this is being undermined.”
Ian Powell says an ASMS survey shows that 80 senior doctors have been lost to
“The meeting with a unanimous resolution also showed their concern over the severe crisis affecting the ability to train, recruit and retain senior doctors and dentists in
The doctors were unanimous in their rejection of the DHBs’ current offer and also in their condemnation of the DHBs’ failure to negotiate genuinely and its failure to reach a national collective agreement.
The next stopwork meetings are being held tomorrow (Tuesday July 31) involving doctors from the West Coast DHB and the Taranaki DHB.
