❓ The Minister for Health updates the house on initiatives to support the junior medical workforce in WA, focusing on improving workplace culture, flexibility, and access to entitlements, while highlighting increased healthcare workforce numbers.
AnsweredQoN 448Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HEALTH — WORKFORCE
448. Mr G. BAKER to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
ongoing commitment to delivering a strong health workforce.
Can the minister update the house on
how this government is supporting WA Health's junior medical workforce
and making WA Health an employer of choice?
448. Mr G. BAKER to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
ongoing commitment to delivering a strong health workforce.
Can the minister update the house on
how this government is supporting WA Health's junior medical workforce
and making WA Health an employer of choice?
AnswerView source ↗
Speaking of employing more nurses
and doctors, that is exactly what this government has done. We have increased our clinical workforce by around 30 per cent since
coming to government. Since 2017, we have grown our healthcare workforce
by 4 400 nurses and 1 600 doctors—that is a 30 per cent increase. That
is where the expenditure is. If we ask the community whether that is the right
priority for expenditure, it will say yes and that it is exactly where it expects
a state government to spend its money—in core public services,
improving access to public transport, improving access to education and
improving access to health care. That is exactly where it is. We are proud of
that on this side of the house. We are not trying to penny pinch in the public
health system. We are not trying to cut back on staff in the public health
system and reduce the number of full-time equivalents. We are proud of our
increase in expenditure in health, education and public transport, because that
is what we believe in on this side of the house. The member for Cottesloe can
continue to ask those questions and he will continue to be ridiculed because he
is so far out of step with community expectations.
I was really delighted to be at Fiona
Stanley Hospital this morning, because, of course, we are increasing our
clinical staff, but we also need to make sure that the place where people are
working, WA Health, has a really good,
positive workforce. We want people to have long and happy careers in the public
health system. One of the most challenged clinical workforces is junior
doctors, also known as doctors in training. Essentially, once doctors finish
their medical undergraduate degrees, they do many, many years—sometimes
eight to 12 years—of postgraduate training to specialise in a particular
area. Previously, junior doctors were treated pretty badly, flogged pretty
hard, by the consultants and hospitals. There are some historic cultural issues
and challenges that both the Australian Medical Association and the government
acknowledge. The way that we challenge some of those cultural norms in the
medical workforce is to change the processes available to junior doctors to
access leave and overtime and to have reasonable rostering hours to provide a more
sustainable career path for them.
The period of time in which people
generally undertake their postgraduate training is also the time they are
having families. Junior doctors are in their late 30s and 40s. It is the time
they are having families. They want flexibility. Men want, and are demanding,
quite rightly, more parental time off. They want to be more engaged with their families, and they want to spend time with their
children when they are young and growing up. The government needs to respond
and meet those challenges. That is why I am so delighted to be launching the
doctor support unit at the South Metropolitan Health Service, which will
improve the workplace in south metro for the Rockingham General Hospital, Peel,
when it comes online, Fremantle Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital.
As I said, it is no secret that there are cultural challenges
in medicine. Sometimes it is about changing the processes around how people
access existing entitlements. Senior doctors have commented that they went
through hell when they were junior doctors and it should be different for our
junior doctors now. I am glad to see that these attitudes are changing. There
have been calls for a cultural shift amongst the medical workforce, fostering a
more inclusive and supportive medical culture in which doctors feel safe to
report inappropriate behaviour. We have been working very closely with the
Australian Medical Association on its next agreement, really prioritising the
junior doctor workforce. We have provided permanency for our medical workforce.
For the first time in about two decades, our medical workforce will be
permanent.
South metro and east metro have
launched their own platforms to support the junior doctor workforce. North
metro has a really strong program of
supporting its junior doctors. We recognise that this is a historic challenge
but one that we have to meet if we are going to maintain a sustainable
and healthy workforce. The wellbeing and health of our junior doctors is
incredibly important. We need people to not burn out. We need people to be
working, and working into the future.
We are also focusing on expanding
models of care for other areas of our workforce, tapping untapped scope in
enrolled nurses, in nursing, in nurse practitioners and in allied health. We
now have extended scope allied health workers and physios. We have a fantastic
extended scope physio who runs out of Rockingham, providing a great alternative
to the emergency department.
Supporting our workforce is a hallmark
of this government. Expanding our workforce is a hallmark of this government,
and we are very proud of it.
and doctors, that is exactly what this government has done. We have increased our clinical workforce by around 30 per cent since
coming to government. Since 2017, we have grown our healthcare workforce
by 4 400 nurses and 1 600 doctors—that is a 30 per cent increase. That
is where the expenditure is. If we ask the community whether that is the right
priority for expenditure, it will say yes and that it is exactly where it expects
a state government to spend its money—in core public services,
improving access to public transport, improving access to education and
improving access to health care. That is exactly where it is. We are proud of
that on this side of the house. We are not trying to penny pinch in the public
health system. We are not trying to cut back on staff in the public health
system and reduce the number of full-time equivalents. We are proud of our
increase in expenditure in health, education and public transport, because that
is what we believe in on this side of the house. The member for Cottesloe can
continue to ask those questions and he will continue to be ridiculed because he
is so far out of step with community expectations.
I was really delighted to be at Fiona
Stanley Hospital this morning, because, of course, we are increasing our
clinical staff, but we also need to make sure that the place where people are
working, WA Health, has a really good,
positive workforce. We want people to have long and happy careers in the public
health system. One of the most challenged clinical workforces is junior
doctors, also known as doctors in training. Essentially, once doctors finish
their medical undergraduate degrees, they do many, many years—sometimes
eight to 12 years—of postgraduate training to specialise in a particular
area. Previously, junior doctors were treated pretty badly, flogged pretty
hard, by the consultants and hospitals. There are some historic cultural issues
and challenges that both the Australian Medical Association and the government
acknowledge. The way that we challenge some of those cultural norms in the
medical workforce is to change the processes available to junior doctors to
access leave and overtime and to have reasonable rostering hours to provide a more
sustainable career path for them.
The period of time in which people
generally undertake their postgraduate training is also the time they are
having families. Junior doctors are in their late 30s and 40s. It is the time
they are having families. They want flexibility. Men want, and are demanding,
quite rightly, more parental time off. They want to be more engaged with their families, and they want to spend time with their
children when they are young and growing up. The government needs to respond
and meet those challenges. That is why I am so delighted to be launching the
doctor support unit at the South Metropolitan Health Service, which will
improve the workplace in south metro for the Rockingham General Hospital, Peel,
when it comes online, Fremantle Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital.
As I said, it is no secret that there are cultural challenges
in medicine. Sometimes it is about changing the processes around how people
access existing entitlements. Senior doctors have commented that they went
through hell when they were junior doctors and it should be different for our
junior doctors now. I am glad to see that these attitudes are changing. There
have been calls for a cultural shift amongst the medical workforce, fostering a
more inclusive and supportive medical culture in which doctors feel safe to
report inappropriate behaviour. We have been working very closely with the
Australian Medical Association on its next agreement, really prioritising the
junior doctor workforce. We have provided permanency for our medical workforce.
For the first time in about two decades, our medical workforce will be
permanent.
South metro and east metro have
launched their own platforms to support the junior doctor workforce. North
metro has a really strong program of
supporting its junior doctors. We recognise that this is a historic challenge
but one that we have to meet if we are going to maintain a sustainable
and healthy workforce. The wellbeing and health of our junior doctors is
incredibly important. We need people to not burn out. We need people to be
working, and working into the future.
We are also focusing on expanding
models of care for other areas of our workforce, tapping untapped scope in
enrolled nurses, in nursing, in nurse practitioners and in allied health. We
now have extended scope allied health workers and physios. We have a fantastic
extended scope physio who runs out of Rockingham, providing a great alternative
to the emergency department.
Supporting our workforce is a hallmark
of this government. Expanding our workforce is a hallmark of this government,
and we are very proud of it.
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