Yvette D’Ath labels fees charged by temporary doctors ‘unconscionable’ amid maternity crisis
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has lashed out at some doctors who she has accused of having “unconscionable” fee demands and putting money ahead of regional communities.
Key points:
- Health Minister Yvette D’Ath says the amount “locums are charging is extraordinary”
- The comments come ahead of a women’s health workforce forum in Brisbane on Thursday
- The LNP says the Health Minister’s words have “crushed morale”
The remarks come ahead of a women’s health workforce forum in Brisbane on Thursday.
Locum doctors are visiting doctors used throughout Australia to temporarily fill vacant roles in hospitals.
They are generally paid thousands of dollars a day.
“The amount locums are charging is extraordinary,” Ms D’Ath said.
“We’ve had circumstances where we’ve been negotiating with locums and there were media reports … we got phone calls saying ‘our fee just went up’ from the media reports because they know they’re in demand.
“I find it quite unconscionable that that is happening out there.”
Ms D’Ath’s comments come amid several crises at maternity services across the state.
The Gladstone and Biloela maternity units have both been on bypass for over half a year due to a lack of specialists.
In Weipa, plans to re-establish low-risk deliveries have stalled amid issues with attracting appropriate staff.
Birthing services at the Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service have also been suspended since early last year with no suggestion that they’ll resume any time soon.
Planned births are currently not possible in Chinchilla on the Western Downs, but a three-staged reopening plan is currently underway, though no time frame has been placed on when that will be completed.
‘Bidding war … quite brutal’
“We offer a job to a locum, it could be as little as 24 hours before they’re due to arrive or start on the job and they say they’ve taken another job because they’re offering more money,” Ms D’Ath said.
“It’s a bidding war out there and it’s quite brutal.”
Yvette D’Ath was in Toowoomba on Tuesday to announce early works beginning on the new Toowoomba Hospital.(ABC Southern Queensland: Tobi Loftus)
According to documents seen by the ABC, obstetric locum roles in Rockhampton are currently being offered at a rate of about $2,500 to $3,000 a day, while areas such as Launceston in Tasmania and Wangaratta in Victoria are offering $3,500 a day.
But Gino Pecoraro from the National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said from his conversations with specialists he had not heard about the issues raised by the Minister.
But he said locum doctors had told him Queensland Health was “not seen as a desirable employer compared to other states”.
“Because this is a group of people that are highly in demand, they have been doing their research,” he said.
“And if Queensland isn’t offering commercially competitive rates, you can hardly blame them for going to where the rates are better.
“But it’s not just money, it’s how you get treated.”
Dr Pecoraro said doctors did not want to work in midwifery-led units “where they are just seen as coming in at the last minute” and “only there [as an] insurance policy when it goes bad”.
Gino Pecoraro says more of a team approach is needed in maternity units.(ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
He said he would be recommending a new model of care at the women’s health workforce forum, focusing on maternity staffing, at the State Library in Brisbane on Thursday.
Maternity consumers, doctors’ groups, midwives and representatives of peak bodies and unions will also be present at the forum.
“What I’m recommending is a true team approach, where you have teams including GP and specialist obstetricians and a number of midwives, and woman are allocated to a team,” he said.
“They see everybody in that team multiple times during that pregnancy, not just midwives.
“So that if they are one of the greater than 50 per cent of women that need the involvement of the specialist obstetrician to effect the safe delivery of their baby, then they’ve met the obstetrician.
“They’ve had a chance to speak to them, know what they’re about, and get a feel for them rather than meeting a stranger for the first time when they’re in extremis and worried about their own health and the health of their baby.
“Because that’s what happens with the midwifery group practice model. This team approach is a true collaborative approach where everybody’s input is valued.”
A women’s health workforce summit, focusing on maternity issues will be held in Brisbane on Thursday.(AAP)
Ms D’Ath said the summit was a “really important” opportunity to have a conversation around women’s health workforce issues.
“What I’m hoping for is some additional ideas, thinking outside the box to get services open, but open safely,” she said.
“It’s not OK to just open the service, we’ve got to make sure it’s safe for birthing mothers.
“I hope we get new ideas … a lot of stakeholders have opinions on what we should be doing. Bring them to the table, but also bring the solutions.”
LNP Health spokeswoman Ros Bates said the minister’s comments about locums “talked down” the role of obstetricians in Queensland.
“Those words, and those actions, by the Health Minister have a real impact … it crushes morale,” she said.
“Is there any wonder with comments like this, doctors are refusing the Health Minister’s offer to come and work in Queensland?”
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