THE number of junior doctors at Perth Children’s Hospital will be down 25 per cent on current staffing levels at Princess Margaret Hospital.
A junior doctor, who asked not to be named, told The Sunday Times at least 30 junior medical officer (JMO) contracts would not be renewed in 2017 as child and adolescent health services are transferred to the $1.2 billion Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH).
The cuts come as health bosses scramble to reduce JMO expenditure by $7.5 million.
The Sunday Times understandsthe state will only fund 165 JMOs at the new hospital in 2017, despite currently paying for 195 at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) and previously paying for approximately 215 full-time positions due to overtime costing.
It’s further believed PMH is over its medical staffing budget by $10 million.
Health Minister John Day said while there might be a change in numbers at PCH, “provision of frontline services and quality care is non-negotiable”.
He said the move to Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) “dovetails with expanding children’s services at major suburban hospitals” and “strong growth in the number of lower-acuity patients being cared for closer to home”.
“On the other hand, numbers attending PMH have been largely static in recent years and do not appear to be rising,” Mr Day said.
“A vast amount of work has been undertaken to establish the latest models of care and workforce configurations to achieve the best for our young patients at PCH.
“This analysis indicates fewer FTEs (fulltime equivalent) of Junior Medical Officers will be needed for the new hospital to deliver the top-grade care required.”
Perth Children’s Hospital, due to open later this year, will have a 298-bed capacity, 12 operating theatres and will have WA’s only paediatric trauma centre and research facility.
It will replace Princess Margaret Hospital, which has a 220-bed capacity.
Despite impending job losses, the junior doctor said JMOs were more concerned about what the cuts will mean for patient care.
“They’re (PMH) already having to pay overtime because people are already doing more than rostered hours, so I think they’re going to find it pretty difficult to find sufficient fat to trim in the budget without significantly impacting the services they’re providing,” the doctor said.
Shadow Minister for Health Roger Cook said patients would ultimately suffer.
“This Government has been too focused on cutting ribbons on pretty projects and has forgotten about the needs of patients in our hospitals, the people that matter most,” he said. “Junior medical staff play a vital role in our hospitals. Cutting these jobs will only mean patients will suffer.”
Mr Day said current JMOs working at PMH would continue on their existing contracts while recruitment of the new intake, to work at PCH from January, would start in coming months.
“There is currently a deficit of JMOs across the WA health system, so while there may be a change in numbers contracted at PMH, other health services require more to fill their vacancies,” he said.
Representatives from the Australian Medical Association (WA), including junior doctors, and the Health Department plan to meet this week to discuss the issue, an AMA (WA) spokesman said.