BY NATALIE GALLENTI
EMERGENCY Department specialists at Western Health deferred a decision to commence industrial action on Friday, in a stoush over pay and conditions.
The action was due to start before the weekend, but a spokeswoman for Western Health said the Emergency Department specialists instead suspended their planned industrial action.
She said Western Health was awaiting a response “to Western Health’s clarification of a number of issues” from staff, by close of business on Monday, when Star went to print.
The spokeswoman said Western Health was also “hopeful of a resolution” to the matter.
The bans, which were due to begin last Friday, included suspension of medical student education to focus on clinical duties, suspension of the use of short-stay unit, automatic ambulance bypass being called when emergency department patient numbers exceed clinical or Occupational Health and Safety limits and prioritising patient care to the critically ill and to provide supervision, consultation and training for junior doctors.
Earlier in the week, Western Health chief executive Kathryn Cook said the organisation was confident of an imminent resolution and rejected claims made by the Victorian Emergency Physicians’ Association earlier this month indicating it would make a new pay offer.
“At no point has Western Health backed down or promised to make any new pay offer,” Ms Cook said.
Ms Cook said specialists were seeking a local certified agreement to give effect to the agreed terms and conditions and Western Health was not authorised to enter into such an agreement.
“We believe the existing arrangements provide full protection and certainty to our emergency department specialists.”
The decision to stand firm on the agreement has left physicians disappointed, with claims management has used bullying tactics to deny them the right to have a collective agreement.
Data from the VEPA revealed Western Hospital is currently down eight emergency physicians and the spots were likely to remain unfilled as physicians were not willing to work there while the pay and conditions dispute was unresolved.
