The new, wider industrial action has derailed the existing one and has muffled its message.
I watched the three-day doctor strike in NSW unfold, like most of us, via the media.
I saw the demands of the junior and senior medical staff as expressed in their placards, some containing very emotive language about the plight of doctors that has led them to this rare and extreme industrial action.
I’m a former clinical psychiatrist who has had numerous roles in advocacy and doctor industrial relations over the years, and I am aware how much is at stake when doctors strike. It must always be an absolute last resort, because of the damage done to our goodwill and because the health system relies so heavily on us that any action can have direct consequences on patients.
Leading up to and during the covid pandemic, I ran a private psychiatric clinic exclusively for doctors, and it was at capacity as a result of the impacts of harsh working conditions, exam stress and burnout on our medical workforce. I left clinical psychiatry after being assaulted by a patient when trying to work on a public psychiatry ward that was under-resourced and overcrowded.
When I read the placards and heard the doctors accounts as part of this industrial action it reminds me of my time as a doctor in clinical medicine.
And it really hurts.
Despite this, I am confused as to the approach taken by ASMOF to run two industrial campaigns at the same time.
As a psychiatrist, I am very concerned that the impact of this has been to delay the already protracted campaign commenced by my NSW psychiatry colleagues a few months ago.
I am not a member of ASMOF and so I can only search articles and media grabs for information, which has been largely repetitive and unhelpful. I have gathered, however, that talks between the NSW government and the union in the Industrial Relations Commission were already stalled awaiting further economic information, and then a decision was made to halt talks for my psychiatry colleagues because of further industrial action for all junior and senior doctors employed by NSW Health.
As emotive and as passionate as a dispute can be, and this one certainly is that, it is crucial that both sides follow due process and not thwart efforts for resolution. Unfortunately, this three-day strike action appeared to disregard the orders of Acting Justice Peter Kite to cease organising and refrain from any industrial action for three months.
The existing proceedings in the IRC for NSW public sector psychiatrists can only suffer from the decision to ask all junior and senior doctors employed by NSW Health to strike.
What we now have in NSW is two industrial actions that have blended into each other, diluting the message and impacting on the outcome of each other.
ASMOF is fighting for a 30% pay rise in one year for all junior and senior doctors employed by NSW Health while fighting for a 25% pay rise over three years for doctors employed by NSW Health in the specialty of psychiatry. This comes amid the loss of valuable psychiatrists who resigned en masse a few months ago.
The actions of ASMOF, from what I can gather, have given the NSW government and the IRC a legitimate reason to refuse to come back to the table in good faith and solve both disputes for the benefit of all concerned.
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I know the striking doctors believe this is for the greater good. I’m old enough now to know the issues they are striking for; the messages on their placards are decades old, too, and refer to systemic issues no governing body or professional organisation has ever been able to resolve.
I’m going to refrain from “in my day” language as it is unhelpful and demeaning, but we have always been a profession that accepts unacceptable working conditions, knowing they are unsafe.
We have always worked ridiculously long hours despite public awareness campaigns, and we have always propped up health systems, not just in NSW but across the Australian healthcare system. Governments in all states have abused this, as have hospital boards and executives as they run public health organisations on ever dwindling budgets.
This latest strike has drowned out the message of why psychiatrists in particular took the actions they did.
I remain especially concerned for the predicament of our trainee psychiatrists in NSW, many who have worked without direct supervision for over two months now.
They have absolutely no voice and face having a whole term unaccredited as they cannot satisfy its requirements, through no fault of their own. They were led to believe that the dispute between the psychiatrists and the state government would resolve within weeks of starting the rotation. Some will have already worked on-call shifts without adequate support or supervision and are probably wondering about their career next steps.
It’s also disappointing to see this industrial action descend into abuse of NSW Health staff by doctors. The message could be better expressed than by resorting to personal attacks.
The NSW government has said repeatedly it cannot meet the demands for the pay rises that ASMOF is seeking for its members.
I feel it is unlikely that talks will begin smoothly again for NSW psychiatrists at the end of this week. I don’t understand the tactics but I am left wondering who will be invited to the table to sort out this mess involving my profession, my psychiatry colleagues and a mental health system we all agree desperately needs to be overhauled.
Dr Helen Schultz is a consultant psychiatrist, a coach and mentor to RANZCP psychiatry trainees. This piece was originally published at medium.com.