Victorian hire firm First Medical Recruitment seeking doctors to replace any Queensland medicos quitting over hospital contracts dispute #qldpol #smoqld #keepourdoctors
A RECRUITMENT drive has begun for southern doctors willing to move to Queensland to replace senior medicos who quit over the Newman Government’s individual contracts.
A Victorian medical recruitment firm has confirmed it is working with Queensland Health – and said it has been advised to “prepare for the worst”.
An email to doctors from the firm offers permanent and temporary roles carrying day rates of $1800 to $2600 and annual salaries of up to $450,000.
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation has warned the Government they have a pile of resignation letters from Queensland doctors ready to be submitted, should they be forced to sign the contracts they say risk putting budgetary concerns ahead of patient welfare.
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg was not prepared last night to detail his contingency plans.
But Mr Springborg said he would not be surprised if local hospital boards had begun drawing up contingency plans, saying: “In fact, they should do.”
The email to doctors by Victorian company First Medical Recruitment states that it is in talks with Queensland Health “in case the worst comes to the worst and mass resignations do occur”.
The email from First Medical director Ciaran Connolly starts by referring to the situation in Queensland Health regarding changes to contracts for senior doctors.
“We have been advised to plan for the worst and start to look at permanent solutions and temporary (locum) solutions,” the email says.
“We are hoping for expressions of interest to either locum or any doctors considering a more permanent move.”
The email offers pay rates of $1800-$2600 a day for senior medical officers or proceduralists and $2100-$2600 a day for specialists.
Full time packages on offer ranged from $350,000-$450,000-plus, depending on experience.
When contacted for comment yesterday, Mr Connolly first told The Courier-Mail his firm was in discussion with Queensland Health, but later denied it was working with any health service.
“We are a medical health recruitment company and in that we supply very good staff, physicians that are needed and I’m disappointed if we are being used as a pawn in any dispute, labour or any other,” he said. He declined to comment further.
A spokesman for Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the department was not prepared to detail its contingency planning as it was “evolving all the time”.
But Mr Springborg has told The Courier-Mail that he would not be surprised if local hospital boards had begun drawing up contingency plans, saying: “In fact, they should do”.
“I think the unfortunate thing is if you look at what’s on the table there is no need for anyone to resign because the simple reality is the issues which were raised have been addressed,” he said.
There have been repeated warnings by Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation president Dr Tony Sara that he has a number of resignations from Queensland doctors.
Queensland Health yesterday decided against requesting an urgent hearing or interim injunction in its Federal Court action against doctor groups over information it alleges is misleading.
The case will now go ahead on May 25.
Source: Courier Mail