AMA representatives meeting with AWH staff over surgeon sacking
Australian Medical Association representatives will meet with senior doctors at Albury Wodonga Health as industrial unrest continues to ferment. Here’s the latest.
Australian Medical Association representatives will meet with senior doctors at Albury Wodonga Health later today as industrial unrest continues to ferment.
The meeting follows the sacking of long-term breast cancer surgeon John Stuchbery and increasing community and staff backlash over current plans to redevelop Albury Hospital.
AMA Victoria president Simon Judkins confirmed he was travelling to Albury with industrial relations advisers for a closed-door meeting starting at 6pm.
Dr Judkins said he would not comment further until after the meeting.
Colleagues and community sources have supported Dr Stuchbery’s claim he was dismissed for speaking out against current plans to redevelop Albury Base Hospital.
A residents’ lobby group, a local association of doctors and an alliance of 12 regional mayors have said the sacking will severely impact regional wait-times for cancer surgery.
Groups such as the Border Medical Association plus lobby group Better Border Health say current plans will not fix current problems at AWH, including a daily bed shortage.
The groups have been rallying for an entirely new hospital project to be built on a greenfields site, to replace both Albury and Wodonga campuses.
Liberal MP for Albury Justin Clancy, a supporter of the current development, took to Facebook on the weekend to slam ongoing changes to current plans, reportedly including removal of a multi-storey carpark.
“Both state governments should be rightly criticised if they walk away from the multi-storey car park,” Mr Clancy wrote.
“It is clearly evident we need to be alive to the fact that the two state governments are moving forward with the redevelopment.
“We need to be harnessing our efforts not just for further stages, but to be holding both governments to the original commitment including the multi-storey car park.
“And we should also be holding to account a federal government that still has not come to the table.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns visited Albury last week and confirmed his government was committed to the Albury Base Hospital redevelopment project.
He refused to meet with local protesters, who included retired McGrath nurse Jodie Hunt.
In his post, Mr Clancy called for the Premier’s intervention.
“I urge the Premier after his visit last week to intercede and ensure that the car park is built,” he wrote.
Questions have been put to NSW Health, Department of Health Victoria and the NSW Premier about the car park.
On Friday Wodonga Mayor Michael Gobel called out the crisis in the local health service as one of the most significant and galvanising in his community in recent years.
Mr Gobel said the sacking of Dr Stuchbery had contributed to employee discontent and ignited community anger.
“I’ve got a 22-year history of community issues in Albury Wodonga and I have never seen the community so galvanised around an issue as what we’re seeing at the moment,” Mr Gobel said.
“Clearly (Dr) John Stuchbery was doing a good bulk of the operations and my understanding is there’s no replacement for the capacity that he provides to the hospital in regards to his surgery.
“Maybe there’s a plan for a replacement but that’s not clear. How are you going to attract quality staff to the hospital now?”
Albury Mayor Kevin Mack has also been a strong supporter of Dr Stuchbery, saying his termination will severely impact cancer services across the region. Mr Mack has also called for a greenfields project.
Originally published as AMA representatives meeting with AWH staff over surgeon sacking
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