Health NZ says everyone is committed to safely staffing hospitals

Close to 40-thousand nurses will be off the job for 24 hours -- withdrawing labour from all Health New Zealand services from 9am.

Thousands of procedures and appointments have been postponed, but hospitals and emergency departments will remain open.

National Chief Medical Officer, Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard they're trying to provide the best care in the environment they're in.

She says things are evolving in healthcare and she urges unions back to the bargaining table to resolve these issues.