WA doctors move east after McGowan’s ‘final straw’ border announcement

Mark McGowan’s controversial border backflip has served as the “final straw” for WA health workers, who say they’re now looking for jobs over east.

A West Australian doctor has issued a poignant word of warning to the state government in the wake of its border backflip, hinting it should be prepared for a mass exodus of health workers.

The GP said Mr McGowan’s announcement late on Thursday revealing WA would not open to the rest of the country as planned in February was the “final straw” for many in the medical industry.

The GP told 6PR Breakfast on Monday that along with their partner, who works in a WA emergency department, they would be moving to take up a job in an eastern state hospital after last week’s decision.

They slammed the Australian Medical Association’s “alarmist predictions” which they believed swayed Mr McGowan’s latest border move, and argued “enough is enough”.

WA doctors are moving east over challenges presented by the state’s locked border. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

“This announcement for us is unfortunately the final straw. We are now in discussions with hospitals in the eastern states who say the conditions are nowhere near as bad as being portrayed here by the premier,” their email to the program read.

“Cancelled surgeries, being bed blocked etc, was nothing new before Covid, people are just paying more attention now. In addition, cases in the east seem to be peaking.”

They also argued the decision didn’t entirely make sense if it truly was made on the grounds of public safety.

“The biggest frustration around this announcement is that it doesn’t make sense from a health perspective. The boosters are helpful for sure, which is why it’s great that the vulnerable and healthcare workers have been boosted. However these will begin to wane, if we wait too long their immunity will be reduced,” they wrote.

AMA WA president Mark Duncan-Smith has called for a new reopening date to be set.

The reference to booster shots “waning” in effectiveness relates to research findings suggesting they start to decline in efficacy about four weeks after being administered.

The health worker claimed colleagues in the eastern states had reported milder conditions than what had been made public. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye Gerard

A study published by the UK Health Security Agency found while boosters were up to 75 per cent effective two weeks after the shot, that number slowly dropped in the ensuing weeks.

Public health messaging surrounding booster vaccines had also been difficult to dissect, according to the doctor.

“The chief health officer in the press conference also told us that two vaccines gives us very good protection from severe disease, so do we need to wait for boosters or don’t we?”

While no indication of an new opening date has been made, the doctor said if it was shifted back to winter, the state’s healthcare system would face a host of additional obstacles.

“It is looking like the opening date may instead be in winter, when GP practices and emergency departments are at their busiest. This will lead to worse outcomes, not better,” they said.

Just read this email on @6PRbreakfast from a doctor listener. pic.twitter.com/4FVdc4kZOM

— Gareth Parker (@G_Parker) January 23, 2022

“Unfortunately the premier has opted to do what is popular, not what is best for the state.

“We will be sad to leave WA but enough is enough, and we are not the only ones. So the healthcare worker situation is about to get worse.”

Their concern attracted a divisive response on Twitter after it was shared by host Gareth Parker, with many others saying they too had considered a move east because of WA’s locked border.

“My wife and I have seriously discussed a move interstate. The only factor keeping us in WA is our grandchildren,” one reply read.

“My wife and I both work in health and are already discussing where we would go if we decide to leave,” another said.

“Good on them. It’s a hard decision to make but it can’t have been easy watching those in eastern states be able to see family these last few months,” a third wrote.

However, others expressed support for the persistent closed border, applauding Mr McGowan for largely keeping the community free of serious outbreaks.

Mark McGowan’s border decision has continued to cause division. Picture: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Mr McGowan announced the sudden change in a late-night press conference last week, claiming it would be “reckless and irresponsible” to reopen his state on February 5 as planned.

He said the Covid Omicron variant – which was now wreaking havoc across the nation – was the driving factor behind his decision.

Mr McGowan said just 25 per cent of WA residents had been boosted, and he wanted to avoid death rates similar to NSW and Victoria.

WA has only recorded one Covid death during the entire pandemic.

“NSW is sadly recording 25 Covid deaths a day,” he said.

“Let’s just take a deep breath, acknowledge that it’s very difficult over there, and we’ve got to do our best to avoid that occurring here.”

A new reopening date has not yet been confirmed, but Mr McGowan said travel exemption rules would be relaxed from February 5.