Nurses strike what patients need to know

More than 30 thousand of the country's nurses will likely go on strike on Thursday, unless a last gasp effort brings the negotiations back from the brink. Today nurses union members rejected the latest proposed pay offer. But in a surprise move, the Employment Relations Authority has ordered the two parties to meet later in a last ditch effort to avert a strike. The strike announcement ends weeks of negotiations between the country's 20 DHBs and the nurses union. If there is no resolution - the 24 hour strike will run from 7 o'clock on Thursday morning. Anne Aitcheson is the lead national contingency planner for the 20 DHBS