NSW doctors are walking off the job for three days over unsafe work conditions and a pay dispute with the Minns government, causing disruptions across the healthcare system.
Hundreds of elective surgeries have been postponed, although emergency departments and critical care units will remain operating at public holiday staffing levels.
Patient safety will not be compromised as members strike from Tuesday to Thursday, the doctor’s union confirmed.
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation’s NSW branch predicts many of its 9,000 members to strike over three days, citing dangerous hospital understaffing levels, unsafe hours, and work conditions pushing staff out of public health.
The ASMOF is seeking a 30 per cent pay rise over one year, with three per cent in the subsequent years.
The Minns government has offered a 10.5 per cent pay rise over three years on top of a 4.5 per cent increase already given, turning down the union’s demands.
ASMOF President Dr Nicholas Spooner declared the union was waiting for “meaningful negotiations”.
“If you can’t see a doctor in a public hospital, you should ask Premier Chris Minns why not,” Mr Spooner said.
“Doctors across this state are working 16-hour shifts, day after day, with little rest and no end in sight. They are exhausted, they are leaving, and they are not being replaced.”
Mr Spooner maintained the union’s request was reasonable.
“Doctors are not asking for the world. We’re asking for safe working hours, a minimum 10-hour break between shifts, and proper staffing so people don’t have to wait hours to see a doctor in Emergency.
“This Government was elected on a promise to fix the health system, but they have walked away from the table and walked away from the people who keep our hospitals going.”
The state’s Health Minister Ryan Park on Monday issued a warning about the likely “significant” impact of the industrial action.
“I’m not going to stand here and have the community think for one moment that thousands of doctors can be taken offline, out of the public health system in New South Wales, and patient safety won’t be impacted or won’t be at risk,” he said during a media conference
“I can assure you it will be… the likely impact of this action over a three-day period is significant.”
“This strike will harm patients, and I will not sugarcoat that reality.”
