Overworked junior doctors ‘forced to fudge time sheets’, union claims
Unions are calling for criminal sanctions against health administrators allegedly coercing junior doctors into fudging time sheets to avoid overtime – and they say one had to sleep in his car between shifts.
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Angry health union officials say fatigue and bullying issues are worsening to a point of illegal behaviour including junior clinicians being coerced into fudging time sheets to disguise excessive hours.
The public hospital doctors’ union claims the situation reached a new low this week when a doctor was refused a full eight-hour break and ended up sleeping in his car between shifts then starting a clinic at a northern suburbs hospital.
Its officials have called for criminal sanctions against health administrations who pressure clinicians into failing to declare their full hours worked on their time sheets.
The claims are among the fallout of a devastating parliamentary inquiry into fatigue and bullying among health care workers.
It made 27 recommendations after finding widespread problems putting patients and well as staff health at risk.
These include addressing fatigue in the current enterprise bargaining negotiation with the nurses’ union – but union chief Elizabeth Dabars says government proposals to the deal would actually worsen fatigue problems by reducing rest times.
She said a nursing workforce survey last year showed “burnout has doubled” since a similar 2017 survey.
“It is apparent that the culture is now one of fear and intimidation – there is a fear of retributions,” Assoc Prof Dabars said.
SA Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA) senior industrial officer Bernadette Mulholland said some areas of health are being turned into “sweat shops” for junior doctors.
“They are bullying some junior doctors into not writing down the hours they are working – it’s fraud,” she said.
“It is well and good to have rosters which are clear about times but when junior doctors have to work back they are very strongly discouraged from recording those times due to the budget bottom line.
“It is widespread – the worst case I have come across is a junior doctor who worked 132 hours in a fortnight. We are hearing cases of clinicians falling asleep at traffic lights.”
Ms Mulholland was contacted on Tuesday regarding a doctor at a northern hospital being refused a full eight-hour break who ended up sleeping in his car to be on hand to start a morning clinic. That is now the subject of industrial talks.
Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said: “This damning report shows bullying is at its highest in the northern, central and women’s and children’s health networks yet these are the hospitals where the government is in the process of cutting frontline doctors and nurses.
“The report shows that under resourcing has a big impact upon bullying and fatigue. It defies logic for the government to now cut more clinicians from the hot spots of bullying – increasing the pressure on staff.
“Ultimately, overworked and bullied staff mean worse outcomes for patients in our public hospitals.”
Government and SA Health efforts to deal with the issues including a statewide hotline to report bullying and related issues, as well as a cultural overhaul of the Central Adelaide Local Health Network by administrators KordaMentha.
Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade said the government would work collaboratively to address problems, noting the importance of a robust roster management system to ensure safe hours.