Queensland Health looks to fill jobs over contract disputes #qldpol #smoqld #keepourdoctors
QUEENSLAND Health will this week advertise for foreign and interstate doctors in response to threats of mass resignations stemming from the ongoing disputes over public hospital contracts.
Queensland Health director-general Ian Maynard, who spent about 90 minutes meeting with staff at Cairns Hospital , said the department had no choice but to begin a recruitment drive after about 90 per cent of the hospital’s senior medical officers threatened to quit over the controversial new agreements.
“We will be advertising for senior medical officers and probably more importantly visiting medical officers over the next few days,” he said.
“I really have no choice but to do that because I’ve had unions waving around large wads of paper claiming they’re resignations ready to dump on the government.
“It’s our key responsibility to make sure we have appropriate resources to deliver the level of activity that we need to deliver.”
It comes as Queensland Health announced a raft of concessions for the individual contracts ahead of the looming April 30 deadline.
Far Northern doctors are engaging industrial lawyers to comb over the new amendments, which include changes that mean rosters, work locations and key performance indicators cannot be changed without the agreement of the affected staff member.
In an exclusive sit-down with The Cairns Post, Mr Maynard said doctors would also have access to an independent arbitrator to handle disputes.
Cairns Dr Sean McManus, from the Senior Medical Staff Association, said the concessions were encouraging but staff wanted reassurances the contracts did not include loopholes under technical jargon.
“The issues now are whether those concessions can be turned into a contract that is signable, fair and reasonable,” he said.
“I keep people alive when they’re at their sickest, I’m not an expert at determining contracts. These are contracts for the rest of our lives so we want to be reassured by experts that the contract is safe.”
Dr McManus said staff were also furious at Queensland Health for running an advertisement in The Cairns Post which quoted Mr Maynard saying senior medical officers could put their private interests ahead of the public under the current system, which he said had cost taxpayers more than $800 million over the past nine years.
“At the end of the day if the Government doesn’t come back to the table my career as a doctor of 20 years in Queensland Health is over,” Dr McManus said.
Queensland Health has received nine resignations over the past two months.
Mr Maynard said this was on par with the department’s normal rates of staff turnover.
Cairns Hospital board chairman Bob Norman said the dispute had not affected the hospital’s service delivery, but declined to comment on the number of doctors who had signed the contract or resigned. “I’m not going to make a running commentary on who has and hasn’t signed … or on resignations,” he said.