Doctors threatening to resign over contract dispute with Qld Government #qldpol #keepourdoctors
Doctors in south-east Queensland are warning the State Government’s proposed contracts could result in senior clinicians resigning en masse.
About 100 doctors have rallied at Ipswich, west of Brisbane, to campaign against changes they say are unfair and could result in facilities such as Ipswich Hospital losing entire specialty units.
At the rally, the contracts were labelled a “lethal injection for Queensland’s public health system”.
Doctors attending the Ipswich rally unanimously agreed they would refuse to sign the contracts.
A similar rally was held at Nambour on the Sunshine Coast.
Dr Tony Sara from the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation says the situation has reached a crisis point.
He warns the contracts will push valuable senior medical staff out of Queensland’s public health system.
“I think that 1,000 to 1,500 out of the 3,000 workforce are considering resigning,” he said.
“There’s a lot of email traffic to suggest that the members want to do a mass resignation.”
Doctors are also expected to meet in Brisbane tonight.
Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg says he will not be attending the meeting.
“I am more than happy to speak with representatives from the various doctors’ organisations as I did yesterday with the AMAQ and a representative of the medical staff association,” he said.
“I’ve already said the Government is not reopening formal negotiations.”
The AMA and unions are urging medical staff to refuse to sign the new contracts.
Source:7 News