Hundreds of doctors could be locked out of South Australian country hospitals unless new contracts are finalised swiftly, the Rural Doctors’ Association (RDA) says.
The deadline is the end of the month for doctors to sign new contracts for their work in regional hospitals, but negotiations on pay and working conditions have stalled.
Peter Rischbieth of the RDA said the sticking points included implementing an electronic health records system and ensuring prompt payment when regional road accident victims were treated.
“We’re the supervisors, we want to go and work, the registrars want to go and work but we’re told our capacity to be let in to the hospitals is only going to happen if we sign up for a dodgy contract,” he said.
He said junior doctors might be affected if their supervisors refused the contracts on offer.
“They’ve been told that because their supervisors haven’t signed then they won’t be able to work in those hospitals, so our workforce will be decimated,” he said.
“When I’ve asked the question ‘Will I be able to go to work on March the 1st?’ I haven’t been reassured that I will be let into the hospital either.”
Maree Geraghty from Country Health SA, the state agency involved, said a good offer was on the table and she was confident the doctors would sign before the end of the month.
“Nearly half the GPs have signed up already and we’ve still got two weeks to go and we’re really confident, based on past experience, that all the doctors will sign up,” she said.
She insisted country patients would not be adversely affected if some doctors refused to sign new deals as locums could be used.
Health Minister Jack Snelling’s office said he did not get directly involved in enterprise negotiations but would have a regular meeting with rural doctors this week.