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Potential resignations of psychiatrists in the public health system in New South Wales may force the closure of hospital beds over what has been referred to as a “system constantly on the verge of collapse”.
Close to 200 psychiatrists in the state’s public hospital system have threatened to resign over an ongoing pay dispute with the NSW government.
It’s been reported that 181 doctors will walk off their jobs in the coming days — forcing some hospitals to close wards and reduce hospital bed numbers.
The psychiatrists are seeking a 25% pay increase over one year while the state government is offering a 3% increase.
“NSW is at a critical point and must act urgently to keep psychiatrists in the system,” President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) President Dr Elizabeth Moore said.
“Countless reports and inquiries have repeatedly confirmed what we already know — there is a critical and chronic workforce shortage hampering the system’s ability to care for the people that rely on it,” she said.
“For the system to work, it needs to be fully staffed, which it has not been because of a lack of a clear plan and investment to grow NSW’s mental health workforce,” Dr Moore said.
“At its heart, the issue is about patient safety and care. The same conditions that lead to burnout among psychiatrists also result in poorer outcomes for the people they’re trying to help, she said.
“The people of NSW deserve better than a system that’s always on the verge of collapse,” said Dr Moore.
The union representing the psychiatrists, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (ASMOF), said salaries are less than their peers across Australia, with a 30% gap between salaries in NSW and other states and that it was underpinning workplace shortages.
The dispute has already affected the state’s largest mental health facility at Westmead and Cumberland hospital. It’s been reported that there will be 71 temporary bed closures with plans to offset the loss by opening private hospital beds nearby.
Australia’s leading organisation representing people living with complex or severe mental illness, SANE, said it was alarmed by the potential resignations of psychiatrists but not surprised.
SANE said its community is heavily reliant on the public psychiatry system and delaying or restricting access to services means worsened symptoms and negative impacts like loss of employment, relationship breakdowns, physical health impacts and increased suicide risk.
SANE said the resignations are a serious threat to the mental health system, with devastating consequences for those with mental illness.
“Timely access to psychiatry services is critical for both adults and children with serious or complex mental health needs,” the organisation said in a statement.
The organisation has called for urgent reform to what it calls the “fragile state of the state’s mental health infrastructure”.
“Access to psychiatry has been a major community concern for many years, with long waiting lists and escalating costs in the private sector driving people into already stretched public services,” the statement said.
The New South Wales Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson held a press conference on 23 January and said as of that date 43 psychiatrists had resigned and that number was expected to increase.
“The good news is that we’ve engaged 23 locums to fill those roles and that there are another eight in the system being processed right now,” Ms Jackson said.
“As a consequence of that, we’re not seeing the significant disruption of mental health services at the local level.”
RANZCP does not blame the current state government for the current issues in mental health.
“This is not a new problem, and we understand that this is one that the current Minns Government has inherited after decades of neglect and underinvestment in NSW’s mental health system. But it is a problem that the sector is desperate to resolve with them,” RANZCP President Dr Elizabeth Moore said.
“Psychiatrists do not take decisions like these lightly. Our members are committed to providing the best care for their patients, but they can’t do that without enough people on the ground. If psychiatrists leave the system, it’s the people of NSW who will pay the highest price,” Dr Moore said.
The dispute is due to be heard in the state’s Industrial Relations Commission on 17 to 21 March. The Minister has indicated that, if ordered by the IRC that the 25% increase is fair, the government would pay it.
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