Thousands of junior doctors are going on strike this week. Junior doctors working in the hospitals will stop work from Monday to early Saturday.
The strike will not happen in Christchurch because of patients needing care after the recent terror attacks.
Throughout the country, many operations, appointments and clinics will be postponed because of the strike.
Hospitals will focus on emergency care, but anything that is not urgent will have to wait.
The doctors are going on strike because they want changes to the rostering system. Junior doctors often have to work very long shifts. This means that they are often working when they are tired, and this can cause accidents. This is the fifth time they have gone on strike about this issue.
If you have a medical problem this week, it would be better to go to your local GP and avoid the hospital.
vocabulary:
strike: when workers stop working to protest, this is called a strike.
urgent: if something needs to be acted on quickly, it is urgent.
rostering: a roster is a plan for the hours that people will work. People work in hospitals 24/7, so workers have to be organised in a roster.
shift: A shift is a session of work that is organised by roster. A normal shift would be eight hours.
GP: GP means General Practitioner, or family doctor.
postpone: delay
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