Health Minister Simeon Brown came out firing at the senior doctors' annual conference on Thursday. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
An emergency doctor says she was "shocked" to hear Health Minister Simeon Brown accuse healthworkers of 'crossing an ethical line' during a speech at the senior doctors' annual conference.
In his speech, Brown came out firing, accusing senior doctors of "crossing an ethical line" with industrial action that "was hurting patients".
Brown called on doctors to call off their strike and put patients before politics.
The meeting was at Te Papa in Wellington on Thursday, which comes ahead of further strike action next week.
Dr Tanya Wilton, an emergency department doctor at Hutt Hospital, told Checkpoint, people at the conference had been really shocked by Brown's comments.
"There's not enough skilled clinicians to provide high quality care that is accessible. It's very rich for the minister to say we are harming patients, we are standing up for the patient's [by striking], that miss out on care."
Health NZ told RNZ if it proceeds, the upcoming strike would see more than 900 procedures cancelled and more than 1380 first specialist assessments wiped from the schedule.
Wilton acknowledged the upcoming strike would mean people could miss out on care, but she believed it was a necessary action.
She said senior doctors had been working with Health NZ and Thursday was the first time she had met Brown, albeit from a distance.
"I think there's some effort to try and disconnect the union members from the union leadership.
"We really want to provide excellent and equitable care for our patients and I don't think the minister is hearing what we're saying."
During Brown's speech, the room erupted in laughter when he said he had been advised by Health NZ the average salary for a senior doctor was $325,000, and the employer's offer represented a $160 million pay rise.
Wilton said she didn't have access to the data Brown had, but in her workplace she didn't know anyone who thought that figure was correct.
In terms of Brown's claim the employer's offer represented a $160 million pay rise, Wilton said that figure represented an annualised pay increase which still fell short of CPI.
"Still, the offer on the table is, in real terms, a pay cut. In a system that has a workforce shortage offering a real terms pay cut is not going to cut it."
Wilton said she didn't know what Brown was trying to gain by coming to the meeting.
"Starting off a speech by accusing people of being unethical is not a positive step.
"I feel like the union is exhausting all possible ways to elevate our concerns which are for our patients, we need more pairs of hands."
Senior doctors would be joining the strike set for later this month.
It's been coined a 'mega strike' and is shaping up to be the largest in decades, with an estimated 100,000 workers involved, including nurses, dentists, healthcare workers and teachers.
They want safe staffing levels, better pay and conditions, as well as more respect and recognition.
Senior doctors announced they would join the strike earlier this month. Members of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists voted 83 percent in favour of a four-hour strike on Thursday 23 October from 11am.
The union said its officials had twice this month asked for bargaining but that offer had been rejected by Health NZ.
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