District Health Boards are preparing to shuffle patients as smoothly as possible next week as a planned strike nears.
The Canterbury District Health Board has set up a phone number for people to check if their planned surgery or outpatient appointment is affected by the junior doctors’ strike action on January 15 and 16.
Junior doctors are striking for 48 hours in a bid to get better employment protection.
The Resident Doctors' Association said they wanted a renewed collective employment agreement as theirs expired nearly a year ago.
Association president Dr Courtney Brown said after a year of bargaining with District Health Boards (DHBs), significant claw backs to their terms and conditions remained on the table.
Doctors move between DHBs, so without a collective agreement, they were at the mercy of different arrangements, Dr Brown said.
Canterbury DHB chief people officer Michael Frampton said people who have surgery or an outpatient clinic booked on the strike days and haven’t had a call from the DHB can check if their surgery or outpatient appointment is going ahead next week by calling 0800 778 226.
This line will be answered 8am to 5pm daily until January 17.
Canterbury DHB is trying to call everyone whose surgery or appointment has to be rescheduled, Mr Frampton said.
Some complex surgeries in the days leading up to the 48-hour strike - which runs from 7am January 15 to 7am on January 17 – are also being rescheduled.
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