System in poor health

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Queensland System in poor health #qldpol #smoqld #keepourdoctors #auspol

THE combined might of the state has more urgent targets than our doctors 

Unfortunately, my son and I made trip number two to the hospital recently.

The first time was when he was 18-months-old and dealing with temperatures of 42C.

This second time around was a nasty virus that just wouldn’t go away.

Both times we have been treated impeccably.

They cared for him, fed us and treated us with respect.

So many people write to this newspaper to publicly express how grateful they are for the staff at Cairns Hospital.

You are not made to feel like a piece of meat or an annoyance but are met with warmth and sometimes humour from the nurses, doctors and general staff who are pillars of strength while you are at your weakest.

As my son and I sat there on the hospital bed and watched the buzz of ED, I couldn’t help but wonder at how staff stayed so positive despite the weight of cuts in administration and nursing last year, and a new contract for doctors hanging over their heads.

I watched an old bloke shuffle by and wondered why all this government might was being put towards overhauling a public health system reportedly abused by a handful of doctors, who could be dealt with individually, when it could be focused on making life more comfortable for our pensioners, or helping our homeless.

And what about our ludicrous electricity prices and out-of-control home insurance?

Public health system doctors across the state have not taken proposed individual contracts by the State Government lying down.

They are outraged.

And with threats of mass resignations along with doctors’ concerns that the contracts will result in a loss of protection for them, leading ultimately to a diminished public health system for us, then there is plenty of reason to be worried.

The nuts and bolts of this issue is that doctors have until April 30 to sign individual work agreements, which take effect on July 1.

Their choices are sign or refuse and face a pay cut of around a third of their wage. Or walk.

Doctors’ concerns include fears that harder surgical cases will be turned away in favour of easier, quicker operations which will help them meet targets; their personal loss of protections, such as sick leave, fatigue management and interstate transfers; and the lack of negotiation.

Last week, a group of Queensland health officials met, including Health Minister Lawrence Springborg and Director-General Ian Maynard.

They agreed the contract negotiation period was over but they would refine six key areas, including rostering and fatigue, arbitrary dismissal, and Mr Director-General Ian Maynard’s ability to alter contracts and transfers.

They say their new contract contains plenty of bells and whistles for doctors, including that senior doctors cannot be transferred anywhere in the state without consultation, and that doctors will receive six months’ salary, instead of the current three months, if they are dismissed.

But this latter point, which is hardly an incentive, is a prime example of waste.

No one walks into a job with a payment exit plan, and if you did have to leave the building permanently, I am pretty sure most of us would be scratching at the lint in our pockets rather than even hope to receive such an overly generous, unnecessary offer to a highly skilled individual who will find work elsewhere.

A letter written by senior medical officers of Queensland Health to Minister Springborg and the premier this month addresses these “irreversible legislative changes” and calls on doctors to stand shoulder-to-shoulder on this matter.

This poignant letter contrasts these “irreversible” changes with what is truly irreversible.

“When you tell parents their baby has cerebral palsy and will never walk or talk, or even eat independently, because their brain is scarred from a lack of oxygen during birth — that is irreversible,” they write.

“When parents beg you to save a child’s life after a second failed bone marrow transplant for leukaemia, as you’re watching them die from an infection they have no white blood cells left to fight — that is impossible.

“Don’t you dare sit there and tell us that this legislation is irreversible and that stopping this contract rollout is impossible. Because we know that all it takes is a show of hands in a parliamentary room and the swipe of pen across a piece of paper.

“Just understanding and good will from your colleagues and yourselves.

And if you’re up all night to achieve that, then welcome to our lives.”

I respect a government that wants to rid excess spending and outdated processes but you can’t help but think the State Government has the public health system’s head on a chopping block.

How closely is this overhaul being watched by its administrators when you hear whispers from inside the walls of Cairns Hospital that they cut vital positions too deep. They whisper for fear of losing their job for going public.

With so many people so unhappy over mass job cuts and proposed contracts, clearly a stitch has been missed.

It’s easy to be a couch commentator, but one thing is very clear, an atmosphere of fear is no way to create a positive state full of growth, health and prosperity.