Wellington psychiatrist Jeremy McMinn had a rare "two days off" this week, thanks to the 48-hour strike by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists - but will still be clocking up 56 hours.
"When I get back on Thursday, that day will be 48 hours' long, effectively. I'll be working for a 48-hour stretch, covering three other missing doctors," he said, standing in the picket-line outside the Wellington electorate office of Finance Minister Nicola Willis.
"It's just dire, you can't run a service like that. For someone like me, it's either retire or move to Australia, it's just too wearying."
Gastroenterologist Amanda Chen, who brought her toddler to the protest, said she and her colleagues were fighting for the future health system too.
"I think all of us feel morally conflicted coming to strike, but it's needed to make changes that will be better for all of our country in the long-term."
Cancer patient backing doctors
Health NZ estimated the strike - which finishes at 11.59pm - was disrupting care for about 13,000 patients.
Cancer patient Charyl Robinson, who joined the protest to show solidarity with her "amazing team of -ologists", said she had personally written to Health Minister Simeon Brown twice about her worries over workforce vulnerabilities - but only received an "auto reply".
"He's very selective about the patients he'll engage with. The likes of me, who don't share his narrative, I don't matter. So when I hear him talk about being concerned for patients, quite frankly, I find that laughable."
Her medical oncologist, Sharon Pattison, said if she were "sensible", she would be working exclusively in the private system, or have already moved to Australia.
"This is about the people who I care about - the patients I have, who I think deserve more than I am able to give them.
"Health doesn't even have an IT system that's robust enough for me to be able to look something up."
Finance Minister declines to meet
According to the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Health NZ's current offer was "a pay cut in real terms" for most senior doctors.
After more than a year of deadlocked negotiations, Health NZ has asked the Employment Relations Authority to over-ride the bargaining process and dictate the terms of a settlement.
However, union leader Sarah Dalton said she did not believe the application met the criteria for so-called "fixing" by the ERA because there had not been any "bad faith bargaining behaviour".
"We are confident our bargaining approach has been entirely in good faith.
"I know Health NZ was frustrated that the executive was not prepared to settle for what was on the table, or lift the strike action on the basis of the conversations we had over those last three days of bargaining.
"But we believe they are not paying attention to staffing levels in hospitals and what they need to do about it."
The finance minister was a no-show today at the Johnsonville Mall, having declined the union's offer to meet.
Dalton said that did not stop members from sending a message to the government that more funding was needed to keep the public health system functioning.
"To some extent, money is the solution right?
"I believe Health NZ needs to have a long talk to the government about the funding parameters in place and they need to think about how they want to staff our public hospitals, because we need them [doctors].
"The answer is not in private hospitals and outsourcing - it's in sustainably staffed public hospitals, with many more doctors, nurses and allied health professionals than we have now."
