Strike organizers promise to reschedule affected patients' doctor appointments
Any doctor's appointments canceled as a result of the healthcare workers' strike slated to last one hour on Tuesday morning will be rescheduled as soon as possible, confirmed strike organizers.
The nationwide warning strike, which is being held to demand increased funding for healthcare so that patients may receive the medical care they need, is scheduled to occur beteen 9-10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
During the one-hour strike, scheduled outpatient appointments, testing and procedures as well as scheduled inpatient treatment will be put on hold for one hour at hospitals and family health centers alike.
Paramedics, emergency rooms and emergency medical care, however, will continue operation as usual.
Attempts will be made to promptly reschedule all medical appointments canceled as a result of this strike; medical institutions will work on rescheduling appointments as well as notifying patients of any changes, confirmed strike organizers.
"The strike is not against our patients; rather it is in their est interests," explained Tartu Medical Association Chairman Jaan Sütt. "Nobody will have to go without medical care as a result. We apologize for the increased wait times caused and ask everyone to please be understanding."
Sütt added that one goal of the strike is to demonstrate that concrete alone does not treat anyody, and if hospitals begin to get paid less for medical care and doctors and nurses are in turn threatened by wage cuts, then new hospital buildings may end up fairly empty of healthcare workers.
Presentations will be given in hospitals during the hour-long strike, and in Tartu, healthcare employees going on strike will gather by the hospital's new entrance where strikers and medical students will together form a "health hallway" symbolizing the hospital of the future.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla