Junior doctors have begun strike action over a dispute about the number of hours they work and the number of days in a row they have to work. The junior doctors say that the current situation is unsafe, both for them and their patients. Junior doctors work an average of 53 hours a week.
Health Minister, Jonathan Coleman, says he has seen no evidence that their working hours are unsafe.
Junior doctors have walked off the job at public hospitals across the country 7am Tuesday and wont return to work until 7am Thursday.
The strike has meant the rescheduling of thousands of outpatient clinics and non-urgent surgeries.
The New Zealand Resident Doctors Association wants the maximum number of days worked in a row cut from 12 to 10, and the number of night shifts reduced from seven to four.
4 Responses
How is it unsafe?
isn’t that a bit unfair on the sick patients?
WHAT! 53 hours a week! That is so unfair!
i think that thEy should just come up with a compromise with the health minister i mean they put more peoples health at risk for going on strike and theres more so possibly because they could loose there job