BY NATALIE GALLENTI
EMERGENCY rooms at Sunshine, Footscray and Williamstown hospitals will undergo further strain after emergency physicians last week voted to initiate industrial action.
Of the 25 emergency doctors in the three hospitals, 21 voted in favour of action last week Dr Allan Whitehead, Secretary of the Victorian Emergency Physicians Association, said the result was not a surprise.
Dr Whitehead said on average emergency physicians in Melbourne’s West are paid 30 per cent less than their counterparts in other parts of the city.
He said it was farcical that their most recent wage agreement expired six years ago.
Dr Whitehead said physicians had been put under greater pressure than ever before and were frustrated with pay and conditions.
“Sunshine Hospital has the highest number of emergency department attendances of any Victorian ED.
“Attendances have doubled in the past 10 years.”
The emergency department sees more than 60,000 patients per year.
The authorised bans could include a combination of administrative and clinical actions.
“Some will affect the income of the hospital, like not billing private patients and not admitting patients for short stay.”
He said clinical actions could include hospital bypass for ambulances.
And he vowed physicians would not back down until they were treated fairly.
“It will go ahead if there are no attempts to negotiate.
“Our focus is not going to be meeting targets, but focussing on the sicker patients.
“Not just pushing patients through.”
He said physicians had lost faith in Western Health after years of negotiations with no outcome.
It’s believed this is the first time emergency physicians will launch industrial action across the western suburbs.
And it seems it may only get worse for hospitals in the area with nurses, midwives and mental health nurses threatening industrial action if a feasible enterprise bargaining agreement is not reached soon.
Star contacted Western Health however they declined to comment.
