1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Right now, five thousand senior doctors striking. They're about five 2 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: hours into the striking out ends at midnight tonight. Four 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,800 Speaker 1: thousand surgeries and procedures that could have happened today won't 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 1: happen today. Doctor Katie ben is the President Association of 5 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: Salaried Medical Specialists with me this morning, Katie, Good morning, 6 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: good morning. Thank you for being with me. Now, can 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: you run us through? I thought we would start with 8 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: just an example. Can you run us through what your average. 9 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:27,159 Speaker 2: Day looks like? 10 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: How long you're weak is, how long you're working, how 11 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: bad the problem is? 12 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 3: Average day is eleven hours. You arrive at work, you 13 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 3: see the patient's booked for the morning. You have to 14 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 3: wait for a bit to find out if there's a 15 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 3: bed for them to go into. So you don't know 16 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 3: if you're actually going to start your theater list on time, 17 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 3: because you don't know if the hospital can take the 18 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 3: patients after their operations. The lists usually start close to time. 19 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 3: You're then working non stops through the day. There's not 20 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 3: enough staff to give anyone a lunch break or a 21 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 3: key break, or in fact even a bathroom break. So 22 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 3: often I'm in theater or taking patients recovery or getting 23 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 3: on with the next case NonStop for somewhere about ten 24 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 3: or eleven hours, invariably because you didn't start on time 25 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 3: because you were waiting for the bed situation, you run late, 26 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 3: so I tend to finish work. I should finish work 27 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 3: about six. I tend to finish work more like seven 28 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 3: on most nights, and then I come home. If I 29 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 3: am on call, then I will stay working and be 30 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 3: available on my phone for any emergencies throughout the night 31 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 3: until eight o'clock the following morning. So that's actually a 32 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 3: twelve a ten hour day followed by a fourteen hour 33 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 3: on call overnight shift. Invariably you are in and working 34 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 3: for most of it. How many honors all standard day? 35 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 2: How many on call are you doing? On call every night, 36 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 2: not every night. 37 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 3: The frequency of on calls depends on the size of 38 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 3: the department you're in. So I will be on call 39 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 3: at least every four weekends. 40 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: And how many days per week are you working these 41 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: tenelm in nowadays. 42 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,239 Speaker 3: If I'm working a weekend, I'm working twelve days on 43 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 3: the drot. 44 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 2: And then how many do get off after that? 45 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 3: It depends if you work the weekend in the middle 46 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 3: of the week's all day Monday to Friday. Then I'll 47 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 3: work the weekend. Then I'll do Monday to Friday, and 48 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 3: then I'll get the weekend off, and then I'll be 49 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 3: back at work on Monday. 50 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 1: And there's no toilet breaks, and there's no lunch breaks 51 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: or toilet breaks. If you're lucky, I mean, obviously you have. 52 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 2: To do it. 53 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 3: What is you tend to be honest, you tend not 54 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 3: to drink that much because you know you're not going 55 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 3: to get to the baths room anyway. 56 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 2: What do you get paid? Can I ask you? 57 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 3: I you are welcome to ask me. I am on 58 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 3: the Asms Mecca, which is a freely available document for 59 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 3: anyone to read. I've been a doctor for sixteen years 60 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 3: in this country, senior medical officer, and I'm not yet 61 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 3: on the top step. So we have fifteen steps. I 62 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 3: am currently on step thirteen. So it's I'm trying to 63 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:18,119 Speaker 3: work out if you after anything like that. 64 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: A rough, A very rough. 65 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:27,239 Speaker 3: I it's approximately two hundred and thirty thousand. Do you 66 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 3: do you know? I'm checking my salary scale. Here we go, 67 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 3: step thirteen. I'm lying it's two hundred and fifty thousand. 68 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: Okay, you've just outlined your what your workday looks like, 69 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: and what you will pay is is this payoffer? The 70 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: clincher here is the fact that you're not getting a 71 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: higher increase. What's making you strike. 72 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 3: What's making us strike is that we don't have enough 73 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 3: doctors on the roster. And in order to get more 74 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 3: doctors on the roster, we need to recruit more doctors 75 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 3: into New Zealand and to keep the ones that we 76 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 3: train here staying here. To do that, we need to 77 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 3: be competitive with salary in terms and conditions. Because our 78 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 3: closest neighbor is Australia. They're starting senior specialist doctors will 79 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 3: start on a higher salary than our finishing senior specialist doctors. 80 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 2: What would you get over there? Head? Do you know 81 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 2: how much or how much more might you get? 82 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: Oh? 83 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 3: I looked into it. I would get one hundred thousand 84 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:33,840 Speaker 3: more Australian dollars after tax per year for working approximately 85 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 3: sixty percent of the hours I work now I support 86 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 3: from junior doctors. 87 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 2: Can I just be honest with you? Why don't you 88 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 2: do it? 89 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 3: I've settled in Nelson, I have family in Nelson who 90 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 3: are in school. I have friends networks, communities. I have 91 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 3: a life here and also I feel I'm not key 92 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 3: we by birth, I'm keep we buy adoption and citizenship. 93 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 3: After being here some years, I feel a sensor's loyalty 94 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 3: to the country that's. 95 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 2: Housed me, Katie. 96 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,279 Speaker 1: That loyalty being tested at the moment. The doctor strike 97 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: will last. That was a fascinating insight, wasn't it. The 98 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: day in the life of our senior doctor will last 99 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: until midnight tonight. For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, 100 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: listen live to news Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, 101 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.