Locum doctors’ salaries

hurting small hospitals, says Mayor of Nyngan

THE large salaries paid to locum doctors is putting small regional hospitals at a disadvantage, says Mayor of Bogan Shire, Ray Donald.

Nyngan Hospital has struggled to replace its only visiting medical officer (VMO) who is on leave, despite offering a daily salary of $1200 plus travelling and accommodation.

The hospital has secured a locum for this week after being without a doctor for the past fortnight, regional radio reports.

Cr Donald is calling for doctors’ pay to be capped to ensure rural facilities can compete with their city counterparts.

“One of the things council believes should be investigated in relation to this is the actual fee that is paid to locums, it seems exorbitantly high if it can range from a thousand up to two thousand dollars a day plus travelling and accommodation and smaller rural hospitals at the moment have to compete with the state-wide situation for locums,” he says.

Councillor Donald says rural facilities cannot afford to pay what city hospitals can.

“Smaller rural hospitals at the moment have to compete with a state-wide situation for locums, and we feel that some cap is needed on what can be charged so that the most important aspect of this is that locums are available at hospitals when they're needed in rural centres and . . . their attendance isn’t just determined by whose offering the most money,” he says.

“Council raised very strong objections and represented our community’s concern direct to the Greater Western Area Health Service (GWAHS) CEO and via the media about not having a doctor present at our hospital for the period of time (visiting medical

“This situation can be likened to turning up at a bushfire in a tanker without water, or having a town on a riverbank with no flood levee,” Cr Donald writes in the Nyngan Observer newspaper.

“Dr Chan gave notice of his leave last October, plenty of time it would seem for the agency that sources locums on behalf of GWAHS to have a locum organised to fill the vacancy.

“Our efforts to have . . . [a] short-term visiting medical officer (VMO) rights to the hospital to cover any local emergency admissions was not accepted by GWAHS,” says Cr Donald.

“The ability of local nursing staff to attend to initial admission is not questioned. However, as everyone knows, more urgent cases of accidents or illnesses need the attention of a doctor.

“Anybody arriving in this condition has to be transferred by ambulance to another hospital (Warren, Cobar or Dubbo) before receiving treatment from a doctor.

“Some form of legislative control needs to be put on what reasonable amount per day can be paid to locums to avoid smaller hospitals being disadvantaged.

“Efforts being made by area health services to provide alternates to having a doctor present at a hospital must not compete with or undermine efforts by the wider medical profession to encourage and attract doctors to rural centres like ours.

“Council will be sending a strong letter to GWAHS and the Minister (for Health, Carmel Tebbutt) indicating our serious concerns about not having a doctor at our new hospital in a shire our size, on a busy highway with a mine,” says Cr Donald.