Senior doctors plan strike as ACC refuses rights to speak about concerns
Senior doctors at New Zealand's Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) are planning a strike over the agency's refusal to guarantee their right to speak publicly about patient safety concerns. The union argues this creates a 'gagging effect,' while ACC maintains it is managing the situation to ensure minimal disruption.
Why it matters
The dispute highlights the tension between institutional workplace policies and the professional ethical obligations of clinicians to advocate for patient safety.
The union for senior doctors says ACC's refusal to guarantee its clinicians' right to speak publicly about concerns for patients is having a gagging effect on staff.
More than 50 senior doctors working as medical advisors at ACC plan to strike next week , in part over the agency's refusal to offer personal grievance rights or protections for speaking up.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) executive director Sarah Dalton said ACC's refusal to include any specific rights to speak publicly on issues of patient safety was contrary to the recommendations of the agency's own culture review.
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