Doctors' strike surpasses five weeks -- Negotiations "futile" says doctors' representative
Four gastroenterologists have quit their jobs at the university hospital Landspítalinn over the last five years. One retired but the other three quit for reasons of low pay and unsatisfying facilities at the hospital, according to Morgunblaðið.
Ingveldur Marion Hannesdóttir, a patient suffering a chronic and incurable intestinal condition, has undergone general anesthesia over a hundred times in her life, and describes the hospital as her second home. She says that in recent years facilities have deteriorated notably: “Patients have to lie in their beds in the hallways due to the lack of space. I’ve done that many times myself. The longest time I spent in a corridor was probably over a month. I’ve also experienced sleeping in a bathroom, at the hospital in Fossvogur,” she said.
Landspítalinn is complex of facilities central to the public health-care system. Doctors at the hospital started their strike action on October 27. As of now, over 400 operations have been postponed due to the strike.
Last week saw three negotiation meetings, between doctors and representatives of the State. One was then held this Monday. So far, the negotiations have not led to an actual offer, Þorbjörn Jónsson, chair of the MD’s association, toldKjarninn on Monday.
Sigurveig Pétursdóttir, chair of the MD’s negotiation committee says that no new meeting has been announced as it would be “futile” at this point. Doctors are currently planning their continued actions, reaching towards March 2015.
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