Report calls for minimum staffing levels for public hospital doctors amid claims of burnout
Amid claims of burnout among public hospital doctors, a new report calls for minimum staffing levels – and the government agrees.
SA News
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An independent report recommends minimum staffing levels for public hospitals doctors amid claims of fatigue and burnout, as a government survey this year showed almost four in 10 doctors did not think they would be in the public system within the next three years.
The report by The McKell Institute, commissioned by the SA Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA), said SA could be a national leader by introducing minimum medical staffing standards.
The state government has indicated it is ready to embrace the idea and also is pushing to lift the federal cap on training local students to become doctors, rather than relying on recruiting doctors from overseas.
The report, titled Operating Without a Plan, says years without medical workforce planning has left SA doctors “pushed to their limits.”
“There has been a systematic failure to conduct medical workforce planning for doctors in the South Australian public hospital system for more than a decade,” it states.
It recommends implementing minimum medical staffing standards across the sector in ongoing consultation with clinicians and their union, and re-establishment of a federal medical workforce planning agency.
SASMOA president Dr David Pope said the report provides a trigger for the government and the union to work together on developing a medical workforce planning model including minimum staffing levels.
“Workforce planning must also include things like medical student numbers in our universities and retirement turnover,” Dr Pope said.
“Doctors have been incredibly frustrated by the inability of state and federal health authorities to undertake proper workforce planning.
“It impacts on doctors, other health staff and the community in ways identified in the report – high rates of staff burn out; low attraction and retention rates; inability to cover staff leave; long patient wait times and frequent delays.
“Failure to plan means the system is getting by on goodwill and unpaid overtime, but goodwill only goes so far.”
Noting the data only goes to 2021-22, Health Minister Chris Picton said the government is rapidly adding extra hospital beds, doctors and nurses to the system — with 329 extra full time doctors already added above attrition.
“We’ve also committed to opening 600 extra beds across the health system,” he said.
“We agree about the need for a long term workforce plan and are working on exactly that. The plan SA Health is working on will help us to plan for the future recruitment needs for the state for all health professions.
“I strongly believe that Australia needs to train more smart Australians to be doctors. At the moment there is an artificial cap on places set by the federal government that means that all states are left with no choice but to recruit more and more doctors from overseas.”
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