If you've got an appointment at the hospital this week, you might want to check it's still going ahead. 

Nurses are going on strike tomorrow from 9am for 24 hours. 4,300 surgeries and specialist appointments will be affected. 

It's a complete withdrawal of labour. It's 36,000 nurses.

It'll affect every place where Health NZ provides health or hospital care, and it's the middle of winter. 

The nurses union's been bargaining. It's the usual stuff - pay and staffing levels. 

Also as usual, they say if it's life or death, you will be seen to. 

They had a bargaining meeting yesterday with Health NZ, which didn't go well. They've been bargaining since last September and haven't found common ground yet. 
 
The nurses say they are too short staffed and departing nurses are not being replaced. And without more pay, nurses will keep being tempted across the Tasman. 

So, what were they being offered? 

Health NZ says a new graduate nurse on $75,773 would gain a total pay increase of $8,337 (or 11%) by the end of June 2026.

What's more, they say the average salary for both senior and registered nurses, including overtime, PDRP allowance, and penal rates, is $125,662.

Until these guys can sort out who's right and come to a deal, this may not be the last hospital strike we patients must endure this winter.