Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters and Health Minister Dr David Clark have welcomed the cancellation of a planned national nurses’ strike after the district health boards made a revised pay offer.
"No-one wants to see industrial action in our hospitals, and both parties are to be congratulated for the constructive way they have continued to work together to find a settlement," Mr Peters said.
"This breakthrough means industrial action next week has been averted.
"That is good news for everyone — nurses, DHBs and most importantly patients up and down the country," he said.
The new DHB offer will be recommended to members by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and a ratification process will be conducted next week.
The NZNO said the first of two planned strikes, scheduled for next Thursday was off, after the improved offer was received, and union members would vote on whether to accept the offer next week — when its first strike had been planned.
The strike notice for the first strike, on July 5, was accordingly lifted, but the strike notice remains in place for a proposed second strike, on July 12, until the voting has been undertaken.
The Southern DHB said it would begin immediately to reschedule outpatients appointments and elective surgeries — but patients would not have their original appointments reinstated.
SDHB chief executive Chris Fleming said it was "unfortunate that the appointments cannot necessarily proceed as originally scheduled".
But SDHB staff would have to "reschedule all appointments that have been postponed", Mr Fleming said.
"We regret this is the case and apologise for the inconvenience but we will do all we can to make contact with patients and reschedule all appointments, treatments and surgeries as quickly and conveniently as possible," he said.
Southern DHB had this week begun contacting patients with letters and by phone postponing outpatient appointments and elective surgeries scheduled on and, in some cases before, July 5.
"Patients who receive letters today or in the coming days informing them their appointment is being postponed due to the nurses’ strike will be contacted to reschedule a new date and time," he said.
Some patients had already been rescheduled with a new date and time.
The terms of the agreement between the two sides, which will not be released until next week, will be finalised over the weekend.
In the meantime, life-preserving service and contingency planning continued in preparation for the strike action on Thursday, July 12, for which the strike notice remained in force.
Mr Fleming also thanked staff for their work preparing for the proposed strike.
"Our contingency planning team as well as other staff members were committed to continuing to provide the best healthcare possible and we are grateful to all staff for their extra efforts in advance of the proposed strike," he said.
The SDHB acknowledged that NZNO and representatives for the country’s 20 DHBs reached an agreement yesterday afternoon on a revised offer, which the nurses’ union was expected to take to its members on Monday.
"I encourage nurses to consider this offer closely," Dr Clark said.
"The lifting of [the] strike notice will mean DHBs can operate as usual next week. I know this will be a huge relief to patients."
NZNO industrial services manager Cee Payne said the union had received the revised offer following talks yesterday and it was prepared to recommend it to members.
"We will therefore take the revised offer to members via an online ballot next week," he said.
