Latest news with #AustralianSalariedMedicalOfficers'Federation
Sydney Morning Herald
21-05-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Marred by dysfunction': Doctors blow whistle as hospital deadline looms
Doctors at Northern Beaches Hospital have warned chronic understaffing and a dysfunctional patient record system pose significant risks to patients, sounding the alarm on dozens of incidents and near-misses that will pile further pressure on the state government to take control of the troubled hospital. In a submission filed on Tuesday to a parliamentary inquiry, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation (ASMOF) NSW said the hospital's private operator 'prioritises profit over safety' by rostering minimum staff on weekends, relying on lower-paid junior doctors and failing to update its outdated electronic medical records (EMR) system. 'Our members who have worked at [Northern Beaches Hospital] are hard-working, dedicated and capable doctors,' the union's president, Dr Nicholas Spooner, wrote. 'However, they are working in a system that does not adequately support them and is, in some respects, marred by dysfunction.' The doctors said the EMR, which differs from that used in NSW public hospitals, was not fit for purpose and 'frequently crashes for hours at a time'. On one such occasion, a doctor was unable to check the antibiotic history of a septic patient whose condition was rapidly declining. 'The failure of the EMR had a direct consequence on patient safety,' the doctor said. An audit released last month found the hospital's operator and the government both had known about 'quality and safety risks' with the records system since the hospital opened in 2018. Health Minister Ryan Park said Healthscope, which operates the hospital under a controversial public-private partnership, was 'trying to rebuild' the system in response to the recommendations. Some doctors reported working more than 70 hours in one week, and waking for 10-hour shifts after getting less than two hours' sleep while on-call overnight. Others warned of microsleeps while driving home from a night shift. This workload left junior doctors with increased responsibility under less supervision, the union said. In one case, a doctor training as an anaesthetist was rostered for the first week on night shifts in obstetrics 'despite not being accredited to perform epidurals'.
The Age
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Age
‘Marred by dysfunction': Doctors blow whistle as hospital deadline looms
Doctors at Northern Beaches Hospital have warned chronic understaffing and a dysfunctional patient record system pose significant risks to patients, sounding the alarm on dozens of incidents and near-misses that will pile further pressure on the state government to take control of the troubled hospital. In a submission filed on Tuesday to a parliamentary inquiry, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation (ASMOF) NSW said the hospital's private operator 'prioritises profit over safety' by rostering minimum staff on weekends, relying on lower-paid junior doctors and failing to update its outdated electronic medical records (EMR) system. 'Our members who have worked at [Northern Beaches Hospital] are hard-working, dedicated and capable doctors,' the union's president, Dr Nicholas Spooner, wrote. 'However, they are working in a system that does not adequately support them and is, in some respects, marred by dysfunction.' The doctors said the EMR, which differs from that used in NSW public hospitals, was not fit for purpose and 'frequently crashes for hours at a time'. On one such occasion, a doctor was unable to check the antibiotic history of a septic patient whose condition was rapidly declining. 'The failure of the EMR had a direct consequence on patient safety,' the doctor said. An audit released last month found the hospital's operator and the government both had known about 'quality and safety risks' with the records system since the hospital opened in 2018. Health Minister Ryan Park said Healthscope, which operates the hospital under a controversial public-private partnership, was 'trying to rebuild' the system in response to the recommendations. Some doctors reported working more than 70 hours in one week, and waking for 10-hour shifts after getting less than two hours' sleep while on-call overnight. Others warned of microsleeps while driving home from a night shift. This workload left junior doctors with increased responsibility under less supervision, the union said. In one case, a doctor training as an anaesthetist was rostered for the first week on night shifts in obstetrics 'despite not being accredited to perform epidurals'.
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Psychiatrists warn new mental health unit at Westmead could be an ‘empty shell' as workforce dispute drags on
Construction of a new mental health facility set to become the largest in New South Wales began on Wednesday in western Sydney, but psychiatrists say it will be an 'empty shell' until the issues within the state's workforce are resolved. The peak body for psychiatrists has said the $540m Westmead integrated mental health complex is likely to suffer the same fate as several recently opened facilities in western Sydney, which are only able to operate at less than half the available beds due to lack of staff. Over a third of the permanent public sector psychiatrist positions were already vacant in the state before the remaining specialist doctors resigned en masse in a high-profile dispute with the state government which remains in arbitration before the NSW Industrial Relations Commission. The doctors union, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation (Asmof), representing psychiatrists, is arguing for a special levy to increase pay by 25%. The union claims the boost will stem the flow of specialist doctors leaving the state's public system, which is caught in a vicious cycle where remaining staff are left to pick up the slack of the understaffed system, meaning more suffer moral injury and leave. Rose Jackson, the NSW mental health minister, on Wednesday said the 'state of the art' facility at Westmead would have 250 to 300 beds to be able to care 'across the continuum from those experiencing severe, acute mental illness, eating disorders, adolescents, older people, to those who are experiencing situational distress, anxiety, depression. It's all here under the one roof in an integrated complex. 'We don't want people experiencing mental distress shunted away in small, isolated facilities. We want to bring their care into an integrated network of health facilities,' Jackson said. The hospital is due to open in 2027, Jackson said, 'if the weather goes our way'. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Dr Pramudie Gunaratne, the chair of the NSW branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, said that 'as it stands, the fate of the new Westmead unit will be the same as other newly built units, it will either remain empty once built, or it will run at only a fraction of its capacity'. Gunaratne said at the new facility at Campbelltown, only two of six beds are open at the mental health intensive care unit (MHICU) while only eight of the 16 beds are open in its high-risk civil rehab unit, including the only female high-risk civil rehab beds in the state – all due to lack of staff. 'None of the female beds are open so there are no high-risk female beds in NSW. Currently the waiting time for patients accepted to this unit is over 6 months,' Gunaratne said. At the new forensic facility at Blacktown, completed and opened in September, which is a 44-bed unit, only 16 beds are open due to lack of staff, she said. 'Until we sort out crisis in our mental health workforce in NSW, opening such new units will be a waste of time and money. 'Furthermore, dangling a mirage-like new unit we know can't fully function, mocks the anguish of those patients and their families who are crying out for proper care.' Ian Lisser, Asmof's manager of industrial services, said: 'Emergency departments are overwhelmed. Patients in crisis are waiting up to 90 hours for care. Unless the government takes urgent steps to attract and retain psychiatrists, this new complex will be an empty shell.' Asked about the workforce shortage at a press conference, the premier, Chris Minns, said the government believed it would have enough mental health professionals, 'whether it's psychiatrists or others that work in the system' and was now recruiting, paying what it regards as competitive salaries. Minns said the government had come to the table with the 'best offer for psychiatrists and doctors and public sector workers in this state for over a decade' and it would accept the decision of the independent umpire (the IRC). 'What we can't do is hand over a blank cheque.' The health minister, Ryan Park, denied the government was investing in bricks and mortar and not the workforce, saying 'the biggest challenge that I see is not new buildings, [it] is in staffing. That remains the thing that keeps me up at night.'
The Guardian
02-04-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Doctors in NSW public hospitals threaten three-day strike over pay dispute, defying ban
Thousands of doctors in public hospitals across New South Wales are threatening to strike for the first time in decades as they seek a pay rise of up to 30%, as the state government warns the action could halt elective surgeries. Doctors have threatened a three-day walkout from public hospitals from Tuesday. It marks the latest medical industrial dispute to potentially escalate into diminished patient care, after Guardian Australia on Wednesday revealed that the mass resignation of public psychiatrists over pay and conditions has led to the closure of the HIV psychiatry clinic at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred's hospital. The threat came after the Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation (ASMOF) defied orders from the state's Industrial Relations Commission to cease organising and refrain from action for the next three months – a defiance which the union acknowledged could lead to fines. In discussions over a new pay deal, ASMOF has sought a pay rise of as much as 30% without specifying a time period. The Minns government has offered 10.5% over three years. Ryan Park, the NSW health minister, on Wednesday conceded that doctors in his state had suffered 'wage suppression' as a result of the previous Coalition government's public sector 2.5% wage cap. However, Park noted that several other public workforces, such as nurses and midwives, were simultaneously seeking large corrective increases and said the government could not realistically meet such demands in one year. He said granting the doctors' union demands would cost the state $11bn. Park said the pay rise doctors were demanding could see a $75,000 a year boost for some doctors already on $400,000 packages. But he later acknowledged junior doctors, who comprise the majority of the state's workforce, could be on $78,000 salaries – $12,000 less than what they could earn in Queensland's public system. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Park said asking a government to meet a 30% increase 'in a single year' was 'simply not realistic'. He was due to talk with the union again on Wednesday afternoon, and reiterated his offer to grant an immediate 3% rise in backpay – as a gesture to get senior officials to return to a two-week intensive period of negotiations for the broader deal. The NSW government remains in a deadlock negotiating with rail unions seeking pay rises in excess of 30%. It has struggled to talk down demands from unions after agreeing to an up to 40% pay rise for police in November. ASMOF's NSW director, Andrew Holland, said doctors were striking for the first time since 1998 over unsustainable workloads, chronic understaffing, and unsafe working hours. 'The decision hasn't been taken lightly. The decision is a last resort,' he told reporters outside RPA on Wednesday. He stressed that patient safety would be maintained, with critical care and emergency areas unaffected by potential staff shortages. Intensive care specialist Dr Behny Samadi said doctors were at breaking point. 'This is not something we want to do,' she said. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Samadi said the strike would not endanger patients, who would understand why doctors were taking action. 'We're actually doing this for their best interest, because we want a well-functioning, sustainable public health system that treats them well,' she said. While was not yet known how many doctors might walk off the job, Park claimed that if work stoppages proceeded, elective surgeries would likely be hit with disruptions. 'I understand doctors do not want to put patients at risk, I'm not making that accusation, but as the minister, I've also got to be very clear and transparent, in the same way that we were in nurses industrial action,' he sais. 'This does have an impact. Elective surgery will likely need to be cancelled. That does have an impact, and I can't pretend that it doesn't.' – with Australian Associated Press
The Guardian
16-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Australia news live: Chalmers says Cyclone Alfred to add $1.2bn to budget deficit; body of missing six-year-old girl found in bushland
Natasha May In a statement released ahead of the arbitration beginning this morning in Sydney, the president of the doctor's union, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation (Asmof), Dr. Nick Spooner said: My psychiatrist colleagues are burnt out, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. They are dedicated to providing the best care for their patients, but they cannot provide safe care under these conditions. The solution to this crisis is not complicated. It's about valuing psychiatrists, paying them fairly, and ensuring that NSW has enough doctors to provide the care patients deserve. The Minns government has a choice—fix the problem or let the system collapse completely.' As part of the arbitration proceedings, ASMOF will call on the Minns government to act immediately to fix the crisis by urgently recruiting additional psychiatrists to fill vacancies, fully funding training and registration fees to attract new doctors, and providing a 25% pay increase for psychiatrists to stem the flow of doctors leaving NSW. They also want to see the establishment of a formal Psychiatry Workforce Committee to oversee staffing and recruitment and implement a structured dispute resolution process to improve working conditions. Share Natasha May The doctors union is warning the NSW government's refusal to take action on the psychiatrists workforce crisis is putting lives at risk, as the matter goes to arbitration today. Psychiatrists resigned en masse from staff specialist positions last month after the government rejected their proposed solution of a special levy to increase their pay by 25%, similar to that which emergency doctors received in 2015. With 140 vacancies unfilled before the mass resignation, doctors claimed the rise in pay would stem the cycle of specialist doctors leaving the public system because of the untenable workload for those left, and the moral injury felt being unable to give patients the quality of care they want to. The NSW government asked the Industrial Relations Commission to urgently intervene in January, with the date for expedited arbitration a full bench of the commission to hear the dispute set from 17-21 March. Of the 206 who intended to resign, 62 have followed through with resignations but many more have either deferred their resignations or transferred to visiting medical officer contracts whilst they await the outcome of the IRC process. Share Good morning. Politicians have been warned against 'election sweeteners' as economists flag growing fiscal holes in Australia's budget, AAP reports. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has started feeding commitments to the public ahead of the 25 March budget and is expected to announce disaster recovery funds for Queensland and northern NSW communities battered by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. The cyclone is projected to add at least $1.2bn to the upcoming budget, on top o f $11.6bn blocked out for disaster support, new figures show. It has already dealt a billion-dollar hit to GDP, could wipe one quarter of a percentage point from quarterly growth, caused the economy to shed 12 million work hours, and could put upwards pressure on inflation. In New South Wales, the body of a six-year-old girl has been found in bushland north of Nowra after as wide scale search and rescue operation was launched on Sunday. Inquiries are underway. Still in NSW, the premier, Chris Minns, has announced a mini cabinet reshuffle, triggered by the resignation of former transport minister Jo Haylen last month. Interim transport minister John Graham will permanently remain in the portfolio, and Lismore MP Janelle Saffin will be promoted to a ministerial position. And arbitration over a mass-resignation of psychiatrists in NSW over industrial disputes will begin today – more on that to come. I'm Caitlin Cassidy, let's get into it. Share
