Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg says he pleased a row that threatened to cripple the state’s hospitals is over, with doctors agreeing to support new contracts.
The long-running stoush between the State Government and doctors appears to have all but passed, with Queensland doctors agreeing to accept new individual contracts.
Mr Springborg says negotiations with doctors over controversial new contracts have paid off, with the new agreements to come into effect soon.
“Most doctors have been very supportive of the idea of performance-based contracts – where you can measure productivity and outcomes – because it’s good for patients and it’s good for doctors,” he said.
“Doctors’ issues about unfair dismissal and also dispute resolution were addressed to their satisfaction and they agree with the principle of performance-based contracts.”
However, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) and the Together union say a ballot found 53 per cent of doctors supported the new agreements, 34 were against, while 13 per cent were unsure or abstained.
ASMOF president Dr Tony Sara says he is still unhappy with the improved contacts.
Dr Sara says his members “grudgingly accept” the contracts.
“It is a step forward in the resolution of the current dispute, but clearly it is not over,” he said.
“In terms of where to from here, we have to recommend to the doctors that they sign the contracts.
“We will assist them to continue to fight for collective negotiations.”
The Australian Medical Association says it is still discussing with its members whether they will sign individual contracts.
Doctors will have until the end of the month to sign the new contracts, which come into affect from August 1.
Quarterly health figures released
Mr Springborg also says the latest quarterly health figures show a big drop in surgery waiting times in Queensland.
He says the report released today has found some hospital wait lists have been halved over the past two years.
Mr Springborg says emergency departments were the stand-outs.
“A dramatic improvement in the performance of emergency departments, up from 63 per cent of people being seen in under four hours, to 78 per cent, and improving each and every month and that means we can save more lives,” he said.
He says dental surgery wait lists are another stand-out, having dropped by about 97 per cent.
“Only 14 months ago we had about 62,000 Queenslanders waiting for more than 10 years for a routine dental check-up in our public health facilities,” he said.
“We now have only about 1,500 people across the entire state waiting more than two years – a significant reduction.”
Source: ABC