<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Thousands of doctors will strike next week across New South Wales, with elective surgery, non-urgent procedures and outpatient clinics cancelled.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Medics will defy a court order and stop work in the latest dispute between health workers and the Minns government.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Doctors union, Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation (ASMOF NSW) and NSW Health were called before the Industrial Relations Commission on Tuesday in an attempt to broker a deal after the doctors' union rejected two pay offers.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/missing-person-tayla-spies-queensland-mother-of-three-missing-in-outback-for-two-months/02480e8f-703c-4f67-8004-05cdbf1cd434" target="_blank"><strong><span>'People don't just disappear out here': Young mum still missing in Queensland outback</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it failed and the strike will proceed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Public hospital staffing will be reduced to public holiday levels from Tuesday to Thursday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The union says the action, "has been driven by widespread doctor shortages and unsafe working hours that put patients at risk".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-doctors-strike-for-three-days-in-nsw-amid-pay-dispute/3eac0e31-a508-493f-8527-c35a346f9c50" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>ASMOF President Dr Nicholas Spooner said the Government had "failed to take any action and walked away from award negotiations, leaving doctors with no choice but to strike."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Patients are struggling to see a doctor in NSW public hospitals. That's because doctors are exhausted, burnt out and leaving the public sector," Spooner said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are working dangerously long hours, including 16-hour back-to-back shifts with barely any rest, and often covering multiple roles due to chronic staff shortages.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/what-will-trumps-liberation-day-tariffs-mean-for-australia-and-how-should-we-respond/bdaf3ae6-d17a-4dc3-b84e-3f81919a4a2b" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump's 'Liberation Day' looms: What does it mean for Australia?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"These conditions are unsafe for doctors and unsafe for patients.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We've been negotiating in good faith for months, but the Government is still refusing to fix this crisis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Striking is a last resort for us, and we are doing this so the Premier might finally listen and act."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dr Spooner said the three-day strike would result in NSW hospitals operating under skeleton staffing, meaning emergency departments and critical care units would remain staffed to safe levels.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred, Westmead Children's, Nepean, Hornsby and Wollongong Hospitals are among those which will be affected, the Sydney Morning Herald, said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We want to be very clear with the people of NSW. Patient safety will not be compromised," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dr Spooner claims says doctors are leaving the state in significant numbers to work in other parts of Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, patients are waiting over 24 hours to see a doctor at Emergency Department, he says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are also 100,000 waiting for elective surgery.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said the state government offered a three per cent pay rise.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We call on Premier Minns to come to the table and provide the staffing, the conditions, and the respect that NSW doctors deserve," Dr Sponer, said.</span></div></div>