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Doctors’ plea for action to keep surgeons
4 November 2008
Victorians face longer waits for elective surgery unless the Brumby Government acts urgently to retain disillusioned surgeons.
AMA Victoria President Dr Doug Travis said today that public hospital doctors in Victoria received frequent job offers from interstate, overseas and private hospitals boasting better conditions.
“A full time equivalent surgeon in a public hospital does an average of 744 operations in a full year, so it is vital to do all we can to keep our doctors working in the public system.”
Dr Travis said Victoria was vulnerable to even small numbers of disaffected surgeons leaving the public hospital system.
“Hospital performance figures are declining. The most recent figures for category two elective surgery patients waiting beyond the clinically acceptable 90 days are the worst in a decade. An exodus of doctors from the public system would be catastrophic.
“We need to keep the senior surgeons in our public hospitals; not only to provide services to a growing population, but to teach the next generation,” Dr Travis said. “It’s time for the Brumby Government to act to protect surgical services now and into the future.
Dr Travis said the Brumby Government was well aware of these problems but had failed to act. In November 2007 the Health Minister received the Ministerial Review of Victorian Public Health Medical Staff, which told the government senior specialists were disillusioned and some surgical services were showing signs of strain.
“Eleven months ago, the Minister’s own expert panel told him that the public health system was under significant stress with low staff morale,” Dr Doug Travis said.
“Eleven months ago, the Minister’s own expert panel told him that many of the factors that have traditionally attracted specialists to public hospitals are rapidly disappearing.
“Eleven months ago, the Minister’s own expert panel told him that there was a great risk that senior medical staff would reduce their commitment to the public hospital system.
“Since then, we have seen eleven months of inaction. We have seen hospital performance figures declining. We have not seen is a meaningful response to the Ministerial Review, or any meaningful action to keep senior surgeons in the public hospital system. Once a surgeon leaves the public hospital system, it’s a lot harder to get them back.”
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