Doctor contract dispute: Mass resignation avoided #qldpol #keepourdoctors #smoqld
The state’s senior doctors have talked their colleagues down from resigning en masse, urging negotiation remains their best tool.
More than 900 senior doctors and specialists filled Kangaroo Point’s Pineapple Hotel overnight for a meeting designed to map out the “way forward”.
It took 45 minutes for organisers to fit everyone into the room.
Once inside, the anger was evident, but one senior Metro North clinician, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his manager, described as a “pretty good guy”, said doctors were still hoping common sense and calm heads would prevail.
“There was a lot of anger from people about what the government has done, but there is a strong united front for the way forward,” he said.
“We are going to keep trying to negotiate. A large number of the doctors said they wanted to resign and we are trying to stop that just now, as it would absolutely gut the health service.
“We are talking entire hospitals here, like the guys from Cairns, they were talking about resigning en masse. We have convinced them to hold fire, for now.
“If the government doesn’t budge, or doesn’t negotiate, it doesn’t matter if people resign en masse or in their own time. It is the health system and the patients who will suffer.”
Doctors have not stopped talking about the issue, which was raised following the Auditor-General’s report into the Right to Private Practice scheme, but it wasn’t until Monday and the party-room letter that wasn’t, that it became prominent again.
Stafford MP and assistant health minister Chris Davis, a former head of the Australian Medical Association Queensland, had written a letter to his colleagues, urging them back to the negotiating table. In the letter, which was obtained by the media, but not distributed within the party room, Dr Davis wrote “contracts that could harm patients and be detrimental to the broader community make my position in this government untenable”.
He later clarified that while he stood by his letter, he would not resign “for as long as we are making progress”.
The show of disunity sent the government into action; Dr Davis later released a statement, which had been “agreed” upon by Health Minister Lawrence Springborg’s department and it was Mr Springborg, not Dr Davis who fronted the media after its release, with assurances everyone was now on the same page.
Dr Davis did not comment when contacted by Fairfax Media overnight, but the Metro North clinician said the assistant health minister still had their support.
“I think that letter he wrote was him from the heart, I think he is standing up for what he thinks is right, not just from him, but for the system,” he said.
“He is very well respected. A lot of people know Chris, or know of him and they understand the position he is in.
“I don’t believe he has done a backflip. I believe he is under intense pressure from the party, but I think he will stand up for what he believes is right.”
The government, as recently as question time on Wednesday afternoon, has ruled out a return to formal negotiations.
Premier Campbell Newman said there had been “many meetings” – “eight months of negotiations, 33 meetings … in total” and it was now time for doctors to speak to their Hospital and Health boards.
“These doctors are highly trained, highly respected, well regarded by my team and indeed they are appropriately and fairly remunerated.
“If they were to go and look at what the deal is interstate they would be, I’m very confident, not in as good a position.
“If they wanted to work in the private sector in this state, they would not be in as good a position.
“There are many advantages by going to this new system.”
Those against the contracts have reiterated it is the loss of protections, as they won’t be able to take unfair dismissal claims to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, instead having to get through in-house resolution processes, which could lead to private mediation.
Doctors will also be given key performance indicators, agreed upon during the time of the contract negotiation, which they will have to meet.
Some fear that will result in harder surgical cases being turned away in favour of easier, quicker operations which will help doctors meet their targets.
But the government has remained steadfast its contracts are the way forward and once doctors understand the differences, they will sign.
The majority of the contracts will begin being distributed in the next two weeks. The government has set a deadline of April 30 for doctors to sign.
Source: Brisbane Times