Scores of resignations flood in as NSW psychiatrists launch bid to save sick system
Almost one in five psychiatrists employed in NSW public hospitals have tendered their resignations, with more to come, in an extraordinary bid to stem a mutiny of public sector doctors and improve patient care.
Almost one in five psychiatrists employed in NSW public hospitals have tendered their resignations, with more to come, in an extraordinary bid to stem a mutiny of public sector doctors and improve patient care within a mental health system at breaking point.
At least 150 staff specialist psychiatrists – well over half the workforce of these public sector doctors – resolved to quit their jobs in an extraordinary meeting convened by the national psychiatry college on Monday night.
Between 40 and 50 of these doctors formally tendered their resignations to the NSW health ministry on Tuesday, with the rest planning to do so by Friday.
“We’re resigning in desperation at the system and how the quality of care that we are able give has declined,” said Dr Ian Korbel, a consultant forensic psychiatrist and chair of the Mental Health Staff Committee at Justice Health.
“And we are taking this action in hope that we’ll be able to recruit registrars and retain those who are currently in the system.”
The doctors are asking for a pay rise of between 20 and 25 per cent, along with system changes – and they say that is because the staff exodus from the public system is now a tide that must be urgently stemmed.
The state’s failure to be able to recruit and retain psychiatrists to work in public hospitals is now an acute crisis, with one in three staff specialist positions vacant and enormous sums being spent by taxpayers on wages for fill-in locums. In the end, it’s patients who suffer the most.
“Our concern is for people with severe and complex mental ill-health who need consistent and safe care,” said Pramudie Gunaratne, chair of the NSW Branch Committee of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, issuing an update to members.
“We acknowledge the steady loss of psychiatrists from the public health system in recent years has had significant impacts on patient care and member wellbeing.
“The expected resignations in the coming days will have significant impacts across all services. There are also likely to be flow-on impacts in primary care and the private psychiatry system due to increased workload.
“This decision has not been taken lightly by the psychiatrists involved. It follows more than a year of discussions about the immense strain being felt across the NSW workforce.”
The NSW government has scrambled to reassure patients that hospital psychiatric wards would remain staffed, as public hospitals continue to receive a deluge of resignations. The end date of employment for the staff who have handed in their resignations is January 21. The staff says workforce depletion and paltry resourcing is jeopardising their ability to provide patient care.
They are seeking a special boost to staff pay in order to stem the mutiny of psychiatrists from the public system and to lift the low proportions of registrars who plan to work in public hospitals after completing their training.
Years ago that figure used to be 75 per cent, but now only 20 per cent of registrars say they will stay in public sector psychiatry.
The severely mentally ill are frequently relegated to homelessness and incarceration. And the life expectancy of those suffering chronic severe mental health conditions is at least 17 years below that of the rest of the population.
NSW Health Minister Rose Jackson issued a statement on Tuesday saying the health department had offered psychiatrists in May this year via their union a 10.5 per cent pay increase over three years. This rise represents the offer to all staff specialist doctors in NSW and does not relate to the current special agreement being sought by psychiatrists, which is outside the normal enterprise bargaining process and would replicate a deal offered to ED doctors in the past when their system was on the brink.
Ms Jackson said NSW Health had offered a suite of “trial productivity” measures to psychiatrists that would “enhance remuneration”.
“We recognise the pressures on psychiatry staff and have been clear in our committed to collaborate to resolve this,” she said.
“The NSW government has also been actively engaging with (unions and colleges) … over the past seven months to address non-award issues affecting workplace satisfaction. Given the ongoing, robust conversations, news of the intended mass resignation of 150 psychiatrists is a deeply disappointing outcome.
“To be clear – the resignation is not effective immediately and the NSW government is implementing strategies to safeguard service continuity.”
The doctors are despairing at the state of the broken system, with hospital psychiatric wards perpetually full.
