Patients urged to attend appointments during strike

The Southern District Health Board has told patients to attend planned appointments despite a New Zealand Residents' Doctors Association strike next week.

Patients who have surgeries or procedures booked in should attend - unless contacted directly by phone, text or letter, an SDHB statement said yesterday.

Southern DHB is preparing for the NZRDA strike on January 29 and 30.

Board chief executive Chris Fleming described the action as ''disruptive''.

''We're pleased that mediation talks will be undertaken this week in the hopes of averting a strike, but in the meantime we have to continue to contingency plan for a possible strike.''

The strike will affect health care services across the South, including those at Wakari Hospital, Dunedin Hospital, Southland Hospital, and all community-based health services where resident medical officers employed by SDHB are working.