Doctors at Bendigo’s public hospital have turned up the heat in their year-long pay dispute with the state government.
Today (September 3rd) will see the facility’s medics walking off the job as they fight for better wages and working conditions.
President of the Australian Medical Association’s Victorian branch, Dr Simon Judkins says doctors employed by the state’s public hospitals are working in “incredibly fatiguing and stressful conditions”.
One of the conditions he’s calling for in a new pay agreement is a reduction in the length of shifts for trainee doctors.
“Currently, many of them are working shifts that are extending out to 14, 15 and 16 hours, [and] multiple night-shifts in a row, so we’re looking at measures to address that,” Dr Judkins says.
He would also like to see issues regarding recruitment and retention of doctors in country areas addressed.
“Those senior doctors provide the supervision, the support, the training and education for our doctors-in-training and also deliver specialist care to people in rural and regional communities.”
Dr Judkins added doctors are working to ensure “an appropriate level of staffing” at the hospital today in the interests of patient safety, a point echoed by its operator Bendigo Health.
“We respect our employees’ right to take protected industrial action and we remain focussed on providing safe, continuous patient care during this time,” a Bendigo Health spokesperson told our newsroom.
“We are working closely and collaboratively with our doctors, Australian Medical Association and Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation to minimise any potential impact on patients.”
The protected industrial action will last four hours from 1.30pm, with doctors at the Ballarat Base Hospital conducting their own work stoppage at the same time.
Further walk-offs are likely over the coming days, with unions planning for a statewide 24-hour strike on September 15th.
Are there any topics we should be reporting on more often? Drop us a line using the official e-mail address: BendigoNews@ARN.com.au
