Doctors develop options in bid to resolve contracts stoush #qldpol #smoqld #keepourdoctors
Senior doctors say they are preparing three potential solutions to resolve an impasse with the Queensland Government over individual contracts.
Sean McManus from the Cairns Hospital in far north Queensland was among 12 doctors who met unions in Brisbane last night to discuss the contracts, due to be signed by the end of the month.
He says the group has come up with options to avoid mass resignations and will meet again in just over a week.
“They’re along the lines of asking the Government to go back to the award that we had that was due to expire in July next year and renegotiate a new agreement,” he said.
“We also talked about the model that was in Victoria that has contracts that are underlined by an agreement, plus there was discussion around what we could do with the contracts should the Government not want to discuss any of those solutions.”
Doctors rally over contracts
More than 150 medical staff and supporters have rallied outside the Cairns Hospital over individual contracts for senior doctors.
About 100 of the region’s doctors have threatened to resign unless more concessions are made by the Government before the signing deadline.
Kevin O’Sullivan from the Together Union told the rally, the community has shown it is on the doctors’ side.
“Obviously this is April Fools’ Day so we just want to let [Premier] Campbell Newman and his cohorts know we’re not going to be fooled,” he said.
“We need to go back into our communities and we’ve seen some of the polling in Cairns and you’ll see some more of that over the next couple of days with the polling for the LNP has absolutely crashed.
“Probably the only people who are surprised are the local politicians.”
Double lung transplant survivor Stewart Howard has told the rally, patients are concerned about how the contracts may affect lifesaving surgery.
“The legislation has the potential to dismantle the high level of skills that the Queensland Health Service has,” he said.
“If that level of skills is diminished in any way it means there’ll be fewer people who can actually look forward to having a transplant and can actually look forward to having a healthy lifestyle beyond it.”
The chairman of the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, Bob Norman, says there have been some resignations but negotiations with senior clinicians are continuing.
“We don’t disclose the details of the contingency plan until one, we need to implement it, and two, we know the fullest extent of which doctors we do and don’t have,” he said.
The Government has ruled out an extension to the contracts deadline.
Source: ABC News