Thousands of public hospital doctors in New South Wales are on strike over pay and conditions. More than 300 surgeries had to be cancelled but emergency departments remain open. A last-minute intervention from the Premier Chris Minns couldn't avert the industrial action as burnt-out doctors voiced their anger over stalled negotiations.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00What are you doing? Stand up, fight back! Stand up, fight back! Stand up, fight back!
00:08For doctors who say their demands have fallen on deaf ears, today was their chance to be heard.
00:13Safe conditions! Safe care!
00:15The union's seeking a pay rise of up to 30% to help address workforce shortages.
00:20Safe conditions! Safe care!
00:21And a lot of my patients are suffering. They are taking 12, 18 months for them to be able to see me.
00:27Safe care! Safe care!
00:29Doctors are also demanding the government address their excessive work hours.
00:33Some barely see their children.
00:35Safe care!
00:36So I'll go five, six days without having a cuddle, without even being able to say hello.
00:40Others can barely stay awake.
00:42There are countless times where I've fallen asleep at the wheel.
00:45And when it's 2am in the morning, and it's my 80th working hour for the week, I'll be honest with you, I'm probably not making the best decisions.
00:53Three and a half thousand doctors took part in the strike today, meaning 370 patients had their operations cancelled.
01:01That has essentially meant they're stuck at home in pain.
01:05Across the state, 20 short stay beds in emergency departments have closed, more than half of those in Wyong.
01:11But the government says the system is coping better than it initially feared.
01:15The Premier and the Health Minister met with the union in a last ditch effort to avert the strike.
01:20The government says it offered a week of negotiations focused on a fairer deal for junior doctors.
01:25A section of the workforce the government admits is underpaid.
01:29But it wouldn't provide the union with a dollar figure.
01:32And it says the union had its own demand covering the entire workforce.
01:36They wanted a figure, an immediate figure of around 10% increase.
01:40We couldn't do that last night.
01:42We couldn't say yes.
01:43Instead, hospitals have had to say no to hundreds of patients needing treatment.