Doctors plan to stop work in protest

Press, 14 May 1985, Page 8

Doctors plan to stop work in protest

PA Auckland Junior doctors in Auckland hospitals will stop work next week in protest at what they call “intolerable” working conditions, including 48-hour stints without sleep.

The Auckland Resident Medical Officers’ Association, which represents about 480 house surgeons and registrars, has given notice to the Auckland Hospital Board that it will hold a two-hour stop-work meeting at Green Lane Hospital on May 23. The meeting will discuss the unsatisfactory outcome of recent negotiations over working conditions and assess support for direct action aimed at non-urgent services, said the association’s president, Dr Jeremy Cooper. He said no other group of

workers was expected to work for up to 48 hours without sleep. “No other group is expected to work for 100 hours, or for over 120 hours in one week.

“The public should be aware that working conditions like this are commonplace for junior doctors.” The doctors will cover acute cases and emergencies during the stopwork. The protest action comes at a time when severe staffing shortages in Auckland hospitals are restricting all but acute cases. The chairman of the Hospital Board, Dr Frank Rutter, said the board had no contingency plans for dealing with a possible strike, but said he was sure the doctors would have the responsibility to give sufficient notice for plans to be made.