The state government is pleading with doctors to call off a three-day strike starting tomorrow, saying the industrial action will put patients at risk. It says emergency rooms will be affected and that hundreds of surgeries will have to be cancelled. But the union’s not giving in, accusing the premier of ‘scaremongering’.
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00:00Hospitals have had their share of industrial action, but for the first time this century it'll be doctors walking off the job.
00:10We want to work, but we have been stretched so thin for so long and our cries for help have fallen on deaf ears.
00:21Doctors want a pay rise of up to 30% to achieve parity with other states and territories.
00:27They say life-saving treatment will continue during the strike, with staffing levels similar to those of a public holiday or a weekend.
00:35When you're talking about thousands of doctors over a three-day period, there are going to be impacts on patient safety, there are going to be impacts on patient's well-being.
00:44We don't need to do this.
00:46So yet again this week patients will face delays for elective surgery.
00:51They will face long waits in emergency departments.
00:55The government expects the big Sydney hospitals will be worst affected.
00:59The doctors' union says if the government can identify any critical gaps in care, its members will ensure they're filled.
01:06We can't identify the gaps if they cannot be prescriptive around the medical staff that will be on site for us to be able to identify that gap.
01:15It's chicken and egg.
01:17The government's warning doctors that not only would a strike be in defiance of the Industrial Relations Commission, it could also threaten their professional insurance or even their registration.
01:27It's dangerous for patients and it's risky for doctors.
01:30We call upon the Premier to stop the spin, to stop the scaremongering.
01:35The government says during the strike patients should contact the health direct hotline or their GP unless it's a life-threatening emergency.