NSW public hospital doctors claim their working conditions are poor and staff are experiencing fatigue and burnout. Photo: ISLHD.
Public hospital doctors represented by the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) of NSW commenced strike action on Tuesday (8 April), a move the NSW Government says contravenes orders from the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).
The ‘Can’t see a doctor? Ask the Premier’ campaign is three days of rolling industrial action by the doctors from 8 am on Tuesday 8 April to 4 pm on Thursday (10 April).
The action comprises reducing services to public holiday levels, as the doctors escalate their calls for urgent action to fix what they say are dangerous hospital understaffing levels, unsafe hours, and workplace conditions pushing staff out of public health.
They claim there are chronic doctor shortages across NSW hospitals, they are forced to work unsafe hours including 16-hour back-to-back shifts, they are suffering fatigue and burnout leading to staff resignations, there is poor retention with NSW doctors leaving for better conditions interstate, and there has been a lack of genuine negotiation with the NSW Government which the union says recently walked away from talks.
ASMOF President Dr Nicholas Spooner said the message to the Premier was clear.
“If you can’t see a doctor in a public hospital, you should ask Premier Chris Minns why not,” he said.
“Doctors across this state are working 16-hour shifts, day after day, with little rest and no end in sight. They are exhausted, they are leaving, and they are not being replaced.
“This government was elected on a promise to fix the health system, but they have walked away from the table and walked away from the people who keep our hospitals going,” he added.
“Doctors take no joy in going on strike. We want to be at work, caring for our patients, but the system is not safe.
“We have waited 18 months for meaningful negotiations, and all we’ve received is spin and no genuine commitment to fixing the problems doctors and patients face in NSW.
“Throughout the strike, emergency departments and critical care units will remain safely staffed, with only non-urgent procedures postponed. Doctors have confirmed that patient safety will not be compromised.”
In a statement, NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park said the strike action was in breach of the orders of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).
He said he shared the community’s desire to see healthcare workers paid more and said he had offered a 10.5 per cent multi-year wage increase.
“ASMOF’s strike plans will disrupt our hospitals and health facilities across NSW – both to emergency departments as well as planned surgeries – contrary to the union’s claims patient care will not be impacted,” he said.
“Preparations are now urgently underway to manage impact on our patients. Patients with surgeries postponed will be contacted.
“We do not want this. We reinstated the independent IRC for this very reason,” he added.
“The IRC allows workers to advance their claims without the limits of the wages cap the previous government imposed, without endangering the welfare and safety of the community.
“This is not something the government devised on our own – unions and workers fought for it too. And we have always said our government would accept a determination of the IRC, whether it rules in our favour or not.
“This is not a union without options – it is inexplicable ASMOF would actively choose to jeopardise patient safety over resolving its claim in the IRC.
“I say to ASMOF, it is not too late to return to the IRC.”
