Members of New Zealand Nurses Organisation are now taking strike action until 7pm tonight, Wednesday 9 June.
What you need to know:
Our hospitals are coping well but Hawke’s Bay Hospital is very busy.
Emergency and essential services continue to ensure quality and safety of patient care during the strike action period. All non-urgent appointments and elective surgeries have been rescheduled.
Maternity services remain open and labouring women should present to Maternity as normal.
People with non-urgent injuries and illnesses are urged to seek medical help from a pharmacy, GP, medical and urgent care centre or call Healthline on 0800 611 116 and leave the Emergency Department for emergencies only.
Some Hawke’s Bay Hospital wards are experiencing high demand due to the number of very sick patients needing more care. Additional Life Preserving Services (LPS) have been requested by the district health board to New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) for more nurses to help provide additional care to these wards, as well as ED. These requests have been agreed by NZNO.
People should not delay seeking medical treatment or going to hospital if the matter is urgent. They should dial 111 for emergencies or an ambulance.
Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Chris Mckenna said the DHB would like to thank patients and their families/whānau for their understanding as staff and volunteers work extremely hard to give people the care they need.
“We apologise for delays due to the strike but patient safety remains our number one priority.
“We’d also like to acknowledge and thank over 90 volunteers who have had the appropriate training in advance of today’s strike to assist our teams across departments and wards.”
Full details about strike impacts across Hastings, Napier, Wairoa and Central Hawke’s Bay sites are on the DHB’s website www.ourhealthhb.nz. The website also contains a full list of medical centres and pharmacy opening hours.
Patients unsure about whether the strike affects them can also call 0800 248 794 for more information or help.
Post your comment
Comments
No one has commented on this page yet.