Community they can still access care during strike

Media Release

October 13, 2016

Taranaki DHB assures community they can still access care during doctors strike

Taranaki District Health Board is reassuring the public that they will still be able to access healthcare during the planned resident doctors strikes.

Gill Campbell, Taranaki DHB Chief Operations Officer said, “We have contingency plans in place to ensure minimal disruption from the industrial action and people who require acute care over the strike period will still be able to receive this.”

“We will still have sufficient medical staff available and we will be focusing on providing acute and essential services to ensure patient safety during the strike.”

Mrs Campbell added, “We are asking people who have a health concern or condition that is not urgent or not an emergency, to please contact their GP in the first instance and keep our Emergency Department (ED) for emergencies. As with any other time, if people have an emergency they need to call 111.”

“To maintain acute services over the strike period, it does mean we have had to reschedule some of our non-urgent patient appointments and most of our elective surgery. We understand this will be an inconvenience to people and we apologise for this,” said Mrs Campbell.

“We have already contacted those patients affected, and for those who have not been contacted, they should come to their usual appointment as scheduled,” she added.

ENDS

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