Thousands of doctors from more than 30 public hospitals across NSW walked off the job on Tuesday, seeking a one-off, 30 per cent salary increase and guaranteed breaks.
Outside the 975-bed Westmead Hospital in Sydney’s west, hundreds of doctors chanted that only safe working conditions could provide patients with safe care.
“Doctors at this rally have actually already signed contracts in other states,” junior doctor Henry Crayton said.
“I’d be lying if I said I myself was not actively looking, because if the state government doesn’t value me and doesn’t help me be the best doctor I can, why would I stay?”
He said he’d worked 135 hours in the past fortnight, with one day off, covering 150 patients per shift.
“That is a completely normal fortnight for me, and I’m over it,” Crayton said.
Another western Sydney doctor said the government’s unwillingness to move on pay and conditions was demoralising the sector.
First-year doctors earn about $38 an hour but can collect $45 per hour in Queensland, before considering penalty rates and extra leave.
“Patient care is declining simply by virtue of the fact we can’t staff our hospitals appropriately — we are chronically unstaffed,” Zachary McPherson said.
“Any one of our doctors here striking today could make 20 or 30 per cent more money just by simply moving to Brisbane or Melbourne.”
Fears of health system chaos
The strike — the first by NSW doctors since 1998 — has sparked fears that an already stretched health system will plunge into chaos, although union officials insist urgent care will be administered.
Hospitals will be staffed at public holiday levels throughout the strike, with only non-urgent procedures postponed.
The NSW doctors also want better work conditions, such as a guaranteed 10-hour break between shifts.
Health Minister Ryan Park urged union officials to negotiate “without the threat of industrial action over the community’s head”.
He said elective surgery patients would remain waiting in pain as a result, adding that public holiday staffing levels were far below a regular Tuesday.
“We understand there are gaps in pay, we’re not trying to hide from the fact that there are,” he told ABC radio.
“What we’ve said to the union is, ‘can we get more time to try and make this catch-up a reality?’
“We simply can’t do it over the course of a single year, that’s not feasible.”
The union representing doctors, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation, said the action from early Tuesday to late Thursday night was necessary to address critical doctor shortages.
Lawanda Ramage
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