A planned strike by Victorian doctors will not go ahead today.
The strike – which was also supposed to include doctors from Barwon Health – was set to run for 12 hours across state hospitals.
However a last ditch agreement was reached yesterday with the state government on an agreement that saw the strike avoided.
The interim agreement means all hospitals will run at normal capacity.
ASMOF Victoria Secretary Kevin Shi said that important commitment had been reached in the agreement.
“We have now secured commitments from the government that have made some improvements to hours of work and doctor fatigue,” he said.
“We have also secured proper recording and remuneration for previously unpaid overtime for doctors in training so we can accurately assess the full extent of the resources required to support quality healthcare for our patients across our healthcare system.”
AMA Victoria president Dr Simon Judkins said there is still a lot to get right.
“While we welcome these important improvements to doctors’ conditions which will help us protect patient safety, this interim agreement does not address the systemic problem of understaffing, and to address that we must address remuneration,” he said.
“To attract and retain the doctors we need to support quality clinical care, the Victorian Government must be able to provide a package of pay and conditions that effectively competes with other States and Territories.
“This interim agreement does not fix that problem, and this will now be the focus of our industrial and advocacy efforts.
“The fact remains, if we do not have enough doctors in Victoria, we simply cannot address understaffing, fatigue, unsafe working conditions and the threat to patient safety in the long term.”
