Campbell Newman can’t get foreign doctors to replace public specialists in time, says Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation. #qldpol #smoqld #keepourdoctors
SENIOR doctors would be supplied by private companies to replace specialists who quit their pubic hospital jobs over the doctor contract dispute.
The option is included in a contingency plan by Queensland Health to head off any shortages caused by doctors who choose to resign rather than sign an individual contract by the April 30 deadline.
It could see private consultants such as Ramsay Healthcare, Vanguard Health and Aspen Medical called on to fill positions left empty as a result of the dispute.
Aspen Medical was used in 2006 to reopen the Caboolture Hospital’s emergency department, north of Brisbane, after a doctor shortage led to its sudden collapse.
The plan comes as the bitter dispute took a turn for the worse yesterday withsenior doctors rejected a series of concessions by the Newman Government at a meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
Premier Campbell Newman retaliated to the hostile reception by revealing a plan to replace those who quit the system with overseas or interstate specialists.
“Do not doubt that we will see this thing through,” Mr Newman told State Parliament.
“If we have to recruit people from interstate or overseas we shall.’’
But Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation president Tony Sara said Mr Newman’s fix was “extremely naive”, given the time lag it would take for international medical graduates to be able to operate independently in a Queensland public hospital, and an employment alert warning interstate doctors about working in Queensland.
Dr Sara joined other medical experts, including Australian Medical Association federal president Steve Hambleton, in dismissing the solution as out of touch with the reality of recruiting overseas-trained doctors.
“The time delay to get them here is a minimum six to nine months,” Dr Sara said.
The issue has also exposed a schism in Newman Government ranks, with assistant Health Minister Chris Davis reinforcing his opposition to the proposed contracts at Wednesday night’s meeting.