Queensland doctor takes anti-contract case to his neighbours for support #qldpol #smoqld #keepourdoctors
One Brisbane doctor has confirmed, in a heartfelt plea to his neighbours, that he will resign at the end of the month over the mounting contracts dispute between the Newman government and senior medical officers.
The doctor from the Princess Alexandra Hospital, who identified himself only as Charlie, wrote a hand-delivered letter to his neighbours on Saturday outlining the plight of senior medical officers, who argue they face arbitrary dismissal and enforced shiftwork under new contracts.
“I am going to resign at the end of the month and so are many of my colleagues,” he said.
The doctor, who works in the anaesthetic department, wrote an impassioned plea to his residential neighbours pleading for their support.
“We didn’t ask for any changes. We didn’t ask for more money, less hours, less responsibility, more tax breaks, nothing,” he said.
“Think of me and another 1600 senior medical officers who have dedicated their lives to helping people when they are most in need, walking off the job in three months’ time …
“Don’t let them do this to us. Don’t let them do this to Queensland. Don’t let them do this to you.”
Senior doctors, in particular anaesthetists, transplant surgeons and neurosurgeons, have threatened to leave the state’s public hospital system en masse over the government’s decision to force them off a collective agreement and on to individual contracts.
Dr Charlie described the contracts, which the government expects to be signed by April 30, as an unprovoked attack on the medical profession.
The government proposed the contracts in response to a 2013 report by Auditor-General Andrew Greaves, which found taxpayers’ were slugged more than $800 million during the last decade under the Queensland’s Right to Private Practice scheme.
Under the scheme, about 2500 senior medical officers are paid an average allowance of $100,000 for treating private patients in the public hospital system, in return for the revenue they generate for the local Hospital Health Service.
But Mr Greaves found nearly half of the senior medical officers who were paid the allowance generated no private practice income, while more than 90 per cent did not generate enough revenue to cover their allowance payments.
Dr Charlie said the “$800 million rort” described by Mr Greaves, paled in significance to the cost of administration blunders, including the $1.2 billion health payroll scandal.
He outlined the reasons for his pending resignation in the letter, saying doctors could be sacked without notice for affecting the “profitability” of the health service.
“Doctors can be forced to work at different locations, in different clinical areas and covering unsafe hours, all at the discretion of their Hospital Health Service manager,” he said.
“The contracts themselves are not even legally binding contracts, as they … can be varied at any time, in any respect, by the employer. We are being asked, in effect, to sign a blank piece of paper.”
Source: Brisbane Times