The New South Wales health system is nearing a crisis point, with more than two-thirds of staff specialist psychiatrists threatening to resign on January 21st.
The impending case centers on a pay dispute between the New South Wales government and the Australian Salary Doctors Federation (ASMOF), the union representing doctors in the state.
The industry is already facing a labor shortage, with a further 29 per cent of specialist psychiatric staff vacant, according to figures from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP).
Why are psychiatrists threatening to resign?
The planned resignations stem from a dispute between a psychiatrist in the NSW public hospital sector and the state government over pay and working conditions.
The New South Wales Government is currently offering these psychiatrists a 10.5 per cent pay rise over three years (3.5 per cent per year).
Staff specialists grew by 4.5% last year.
However, ASMOF is demanding a 25% salary increase, which would bring it on par with the salaries of professional psychiatrist staff in other states across the country.
ASMOF NSW acting executive director Ian Risser said: “They are paid almost 30 per cent more than they would be paid for doing the exact same job.”
Ian Risser said specialist psychiatrists in New South Wales were paid less than in other states. (ABC News: Chantel Al Khoury)
Another issue is the number of vacancies across the department, with one-third of the state’s psychiatric professions unfilled, and the government relying on temporary or field staff whenever possible.
Risser said this, in turn, forced more work on practicing psychiatrists.
In response to the pay demands, the New South Wales government said psychiatrists were already well paid in the state, but pay caps introduced by the previous Coalition government had stagnated their pay. said.
Health Minister Ryan Park said: “A 25 per cent pay increase for individuals earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year is a significant amount of money and simply not possible for any government of any political persuasion.”
Park also claimed that the raise represents a $90,000 salary increase, which is an accurate statement, but only for senior-salary psychiatrists.
The conflict ultimately resulted in more than 200 of the state’s professional psychiatrists offering to resign.
Health Minister Ryan Park says the proposed pay rise is too high. (ABC News: Kiana Norton)
How much does a Psychiatrist make in New South Wales?
According to RANZCP, a psychiatrist is a qualified medical doctor who has obtained additional qualifications to become an expert in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illnesses and emotional problems.
Becoming a qualified psychiatrist requires 10 to 12 years of training after leaving school.
According to government statistics, the base salary for a staff specialist psychiatrist in New South Wales is $186,241 per year. This increases over five levels to reach a senior salary of $251,618 per year.
According to the state government, 50 percent of psychiatrists receive senior salaries.
According to the New South Wales Government, specialist psychiatrists working in the state earn an annual base salary of $186,241. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
The government also claims that this could increase to $354,479 if certain packages such as special start-up allowances and start-up allowances are factored in.
Psychiatrists in New South Wales also receive 11.5 per cent superannuation, 17.5 per cent holiday pay and professional development allowance.
Psychiatrists on the list can also receive fines, and managers are entitled to administrative allowances.
As of this writing, the state government’s career portal has nine full-time equivalent positions in psychiatry, including one at an advanced pay grade.
How many public psychiatrists are there in New South Wales?
According to RANZCP, there are 416 designated staff in the psychiatric profession in New South Wales.
Of these, 295 are at capacity, but 203 psychiatrists have threatened to resign on January 21, citing pay issues.
An additional 121 positions are vacant, representing 29 percent of the workforce.
Stephen Duckett, from the University of Melbourne, says the private sector is much more lucrative for psychiatrists. (Credit: ABC News)
Stephen Duckett, emeritus enterprise professor of population and global health and general practice at the University of Melbourne, said improving GP pay and lack of recruitment were two factors contributing to the workforce shortage.
“If you’re a psychiatrist in private practice, you could earn between 30 and 50 per cent more than a psychiatrist in New South Wales.
“Jobs in the public system are often more difficult than jobs in the private sector, which is why people train in the public sector and then leave for opportunities in the private sector.”
Prof Duckett said salary increases would help, but changes to training and recruitment would solve the long-term problem of “shared work and less burnout and stress.” He added that it was necessary.
What will happen if mass resignations occur on January 21st?
Prime Minister Chris Minns has warned of the likely repercussions if mass resignations become a reality.
“If half of New South Wales’ public psychiatrists resign, it will put enormous pressure on New South Wales Police, correctional services, public hospitals and emergency departments,” he said on January 12. said.
“I can’t promise that we’ll have the same service at the end of January that we had at the beginning of January, but that will happen if half of our employees leave.”
Last month, the government partnered with several agencies to recruit qualified medical professionals for temporary roles.
Locum roles can be lucrative for doctors, sometimes paying them three times as much for the same number of hours, despite having less responsibility.
The state caps the cost of a visit at $3,050 per day unless approved by the health department, according to an email seen by ABC.
The central team will be responsible for negotiating rates with dozens of local agencies working with state governments.
Most psychiatrists working in rural and rural areas are already employed as resident or visiting physicians.
A NSW Department of Health spokesperson said: “The specialist psychiatrists who have submitted their resignations are most commonly employed in metropolitan health districts.”
“As a result, this measure mainly affects these areas.”
