Health Minister says law will be overhauled so doctors’ treatment remains confidential
LAWS about when an anxious or depressed doctor is dobbed in to medical authorities are set to be ripped up and rewritten, in an effort to save the lives of mentally ill medicos.
NSW
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LAWS about when an anxious or depressed doctor is dobbed in to medical authorities are set to be ripped up and rewritten, in an effort to save the lives of mentally ill medicos.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the current mandatory reporting laws are often interpreted, particularly by young doctors, to mean “they cannot talk to their own doctor about their mental health or they will lose their job”.
He said the law will be overhauled so medicos are assured their treatment remains confidential and they are not automatically reported to authorities if they are struggling.
It will still protect patients from potentially dangerous doctors.
Mr Hazzard will take the proposal to the NSW Coalition party room, where it will need final sign off.
“It’s a balancing act of making sure we protect the patient and also ensure our young doctors who are treating us have confidence to go and seek help if they have a problem,” Mr Hazzard said.
“At the end of the day it’s about removing the fear doctors have in speaking up about their mental health issue.”
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The state government has been leading the nation in working to change the laws, after The Daily Telegraph revealed a spate of junior doctor suicides in NSW including that of Dr Chloe Abbott.
The Council of Australian Governments will again discuss changing the law at its April meeting but Mr Hazzard has vowed that he will go it alone if discussions fall apart.
“We are the biggest population with the biggest number of young doctors and we’re not prepared to keep going, so if it doesn’t come to fruition at the next meeting then the NSW government will be pushing ahead with our own legislation,” he said.
Fresh concerns about the mental health of doctors arose this week with hundreds to be forced to resit a major exam that determines the course of their medical career.
On Monday a technical glitch shut down the Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ Divisional Medical Physicians Exam.
It was the first year the exam had been conducted online.
“The terrible problem that’s just been faced by up to 1200 doctors across the country trying to do their exam emphasises, again, the importance of ensuring young doctors get mental health support they need,” Mr Hazzard said.