NSW risks losing 150 psychiatrists within weeks as a “major crisis” in mental health care escalates if the health department fails to reach talks with unions.
The New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission (NSW IRC) on Friday issued instructions to union members to defer any resignation notices until January 15 next year as it remains deadlocked with the state government over a pay dispute.
Previously, the New South Wales Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (ASMOF) held a large meeting on December 16, at which 150 psychiatrists and experts stated that they would directly submit their resignations within a week in response to The latest proposals from the New South Wales Government.
Professor Ian Hickey, director of the University of Sydney’s Center for Brain and Mind, said Australia’s public health system was straining under the weight of growing competition with the private sector and other states.
“The way the system is currently structured is very problematic in its functioning – we have a major crisis in public mental health care,” he said.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg of a dysfunctional system that is getting worse under the pressure of increasing demand and a failure to introduce reforms.”
Hickey said the health system relied not only on the direct services of senior psychiatrists but also on the supervision of junior staff in training positions.
“If we end up with a public system that’s desperately short of these roles, we’re going to have major problems with serious mental health care,” he said.
“It would be a mistake to view this simply as a pay dispute – there is an urgent need to change the structure of how the public and private sectors work together rather than compete.”
Hickey said instead of resolving the dispute, the state government was trying to fill public sector gaps through agency roles and potential overseas recruitment.
A number of temporary psychiatry positions have been posted on recruitment websites in recent weeks, offering salaries of up to $2,800 a day, flights, transport and hundreds of dollars in accommodation to fill shortages in NSW’s public mental health sector.
“This is a short-term solution,” Hickey said. “Despite endless scrutiny, we have not had significant structural reforms, which means it is no surprise that more and more people in crisis are not being cared for and being excluded from the system.”
He noted that more patients are going to emergency rooms in crisis, putting greater pressure on the system and worsening equity in care.
“Private demand continues to rise in all sectors and absorbs more labor,” he said. “There is no doubt that there is a crisis of confidence in the public sector and there is no easy way out.”
Key to the union dispute is the state government’s proposed six-month “productivity and efficiency pilot project”, which would take place without additional pay and would be “aimed at… achieving additional pay rises”, in Where savings are discovered “through productivity and efficiency measures”.
About 96% of attendees at the ASMOF meeting said they would not participate in the pilot.
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Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson said NSW Health had proposed a 10.5 per cent pay rise since April, the largest pay rise for psychiatric specialists in more than a decade.
“Unfortunately, this proposal was rejected by ASMOF and its members. They requested a 25 percent salary increase, up to a maximum of $89,000 per psychiatric specialist,” she said.
“We absolutely do not believe psychiatrists are fairly compensated, which is why we are providing the largest pay increase in a decade. This is the second largest pay increase in a decade. [of 4%]delivered by the New South Wales Government last year.
Jackson said the proposed trial is separate from the proposed raise and could allow for further increases.
“To be clear, the resignations will not be effective immediately and the NSW Government is implementing strategies to ensure continuity of services,” she said.
“While some psychiatry staff may choose to move to the private sector, we remain committed to making the public system an attractive and satisfying place to work.
“We are exploring every option to ensure people get the care they need, including finding staff to help fill any gaps.”
Psychiatrists have been warning the state government of staff shortages since late last year, citing treatment delays, a lack of resources and an unacceptable 30 per cent pay gap with interstate colleagues.
ASMOF New South Wales said in a statement on Friday it was continuing negotiations to achieve a positive outcome for members and engaging in mediation and arbitration where required.