The SMOs who are active in this fight are very well informed about the history and implications of the contracts.

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The SMOs who are active in this fight are very well informed about the history and implications of the contracts. #qldpol #smoqld #keepourdoctors

As an avid critic of medical literature and a careful reader of medical contracts (having been cheated out of most of my paternity leaves by QHealth payroll, and having had to correct their interpretation of various MOCAs and legislation through the years) I must say that I don’t rely on the union or the AMA for my interpretation of the contract. I read the legal opinions to see if there are loopholes and misdirections that I’ve missed, but I am cynical enough to see the intent behind the words most of the time, just as I can see big pharma money in many medical publications. Critical appraisal of papers is what we do.

If you can find it, you MUST read the original contract to see the intent of the contract. The powers granted to executive are omnipotent – they set the hours, the shifts (including night shift), the location, the pay (by directive), and KPIs (which were initially considered to include NEAT, NEST, POST and other business based targets that have little to do with individual clinicians or patients). We already endeavour to provide the best service we can, and to meet business targets and flow targets – just not at the expense of patient care.

With an axe hanging over your neck, how can you stand up for your patients? How can you say that this patient MUST stay in ED more than four hours to stabilize them prior to transfer anywhere? How can you say that this policy is unjust, or that restriction on prescribing is stupid? How can you challenge a pet hobby horse of an executive because it has been trialed extensively elsewhere and shown to be a waste of money? Can I refuse to do an extra shift they want me to do because I’m cheaper than the alternatives? It wouldn’t be the first time. There is movement on some of the axe, but there is still room for punitive transfer, punitive KPIs, and punitive rostering set externally.

The word “negotiation” is not honestly applicable to this contract process, nor is “consultation”, nor is “beneficent”. I base my opinions not on anything the union has said, but what I have gathered from our executive, the emails from QHealth, discussion with the contract implementation team, their responses to MY emails, my interpretation of the contract and discussions with clinicians I trust who have been forced to take part in negotiations and who have no interest in unions nor political agenda. The SMOs who are active in this fight are actually very well informed, minister. I would hazard that they are better informed about the history and implications of the contracts and previous MOCAs than you are. We are not, as you imply, stupid.

Source: Facebook