Since October 2017, Rotorua`s eleven union members have been negotiating their collective agreement with DHB. Qualified anesthesia technicians, who are managers, generally earn according to data from the Medical Sciences Secretariat, 1,054 registered anesthesia technicians were working in New Zealand in November 2019. Experience in the medical field is useful for anesthesia technicians. He said the DHB anaesthetist technicians were appreciated. To become a qualified anesthesia technician, you must: to become an apprentice anaesthetist, you must obtain a trainee position at a recognized training hospital. Coxon said anesthesia technicians are always available during the strike for life support operations and that the public is not in danger. Anesthesia technicians may move on to management or coaching duties. All election operations requiring general anesthesia are cancelled or postponed. Anesthesia technicians may specialize in certain departments or procedures, including: Coxon said an agreement was reached in negotiations on reintroducing the 12-hour break, but he said that DHB withdrew its agreement in December. „We are in a scandalous situation where about 150 operations are cancelled because DHB has refused to give adequate breaks to anesthesia technicians. These breaks are essential for the safety of patients and our members. DHB anesthesia technicians at Rotorua Hospital announced an unprecedented seven-day strike (168 hours of total work deprivation) from Monday, April 8 at 8 a.m. until Monday, April 15 at 8 a.m. Thus, since October 2018, the entire strike action of anaesthetist technicians will arrive at 16 days of strike (24 hours).

Since October 2017, they have been negotiating their collective agreement with DHB. The main reason for this strike is that DHB cancels its agreement on reasonable breaks between the start and end of the work. The goal of a 12-hour rest period, when ten hours or more had been worked, was in effect for decades – before DHB ended the practice. An agreement was reached during negotiations to reintroduce the 12-hour break, but DHB cancelled its agreement in December. As a result, DHB`s anesthesia technicians went on strike for two days and then five more days in February. The previous strike meant that patients had been transferred to private hospitals at enormous cost to both DHB and the taxpayer. „We are in a scandalous situation where about 150 operations are cancelled because DHB has refused to give adequate breaks to anesthesia technicians. These breaks are essential for the safety of patients and our members,“ says Luke Coxon, APEX Advocate. The seven-day strike will lead to all electoral operations that will have to cancel the general anesthesia or postpone it to the week. Anesthesia technicians are always available for emergency life support operations if acute patients cannot be safely transported to other providers/hospitals.

The public is not in danger. While anesthesia technicians work mainly in operating rooms, we are called upon to work in any area where anesthesia can be administered. These include CT, MRI and radiology, emergency departments and intensive care.