The IRC decision is good news for improving conditions for NSW psychiatrists, but it’s only the first step.
While the 20% interim pay deal handed down by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission is a good first step, psychiatrists say there’s still a long way to go.
The IRC Commission vice president David Chin handed down the long-awaited decision this morning, saying: “there is an acute shortage of psychiatric staff specialists which is causing a deterioration in the quality of mental health care delivered in NSW and a deterioration in working conditions for psychiatrists”.
“The comparatively low pay of psychiatry staff specialists is contributing to this shortage,” he said.
The pay deal included a temporary 10% attraction and retention allowance that is to be absorbed into any subsequent permanent increase to the salary rates of psychiatry staff specialists “that is attributable to attraction and retention to be determined by the Commission”.
“This allowance is granted not to reward ASMOF’s industrial strategy in facilitating the mass resignations, but because a special case has been made out, it is necessary to separate the fact of industrial action from the merits of the claim brought before the commission,” he said.
“The fiscal impact of the allowance is relatively modest and is unlikely to have significant adverse economic impacts.”
Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (ASMOF) industrial officer Ian Lisser said they were relieved by the decision but more needed to be done.
“The decision today was a vindication of the union’s principal argument that the understaffing of mental health services in New South Wales was causing a public health crisis, and that it needed to be addressed,” he said.
“This decision is really just the first step towards rebuilding public mental health services in New South Wales. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
He said there were many people who would be pleased with the outcome, including those who took out temporary contracts or held off on tendering their resignations.
“They’re the ones who are going to be most relieved because it’s unlikely that they will now resign… It’s highly likely that we will see a stemming of the tide of resignations,” he said.
However, for some, it’s too little, too late.
“There are some people who resigned, and they’re not going to come back. They’ve been burnt. They have no trust, no faith, no confidence in the public health system anymore, in the Minister and in the government to do the right thing,” he said.
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Dr Pramudie Gunaratne, Chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) NSW Branch, said that the wage decision must lead to a renewed focus on recruiting, retaining and training the depleted mental health workforce in NSW.
“Psychiatrists are committed to providing the best care for their patients, but they cannot do that when services are threadbare, and the workforce is this thin on the ground,” she said.
“Services are overloaded and staff burning out – we need meaningful investment and action to turn this tide.”
Dr Gunaratne said NSW had the lowest per capita ratio of mental health workers per population in Australia.
“Our main concern is safeguarding the public mental health care system so that people who need help have access to high quality care,” she said.
“Without proper investment, our best and brightest doctors will leave and our services will continue to languish.”
While welcoming the decision, ASMOF Councillor Dr Ian Korbel said it was disappointing that the commission didn’t rule in favour of the other measures ASMOF proposed.
“These included the establishment of a joint staffing committee to address workforce shortages and the provision of appropriate support for psychiatrist trainees,” he said.
“Sadly, there is now little incentive for psychiatry trainees to start or continue their training in NSW, placing the future pipeline of psychiatrists for the NSW mental health system at risk.”
Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson welcomed the ruling, calling it a “positive outcome”.
“This 20% increase for the next 12 months is something that we welcome,” she said.
“We just really hope that our psychiatrists welcome this decision as well [and] recognise that both parties asked the commission to play a role in determining this outcome.”
NSW Health said they will work with the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation and Staff Specialist Psychiatrists to implement this interim decision immediately.
“Our psychiatrists are a valued part of the health system and we now look forward to working with
them to strengthen mental health care across our state.”
Dr Korbel said this decision could start the rebuilding process for NSW.
“We want to work with the Government to make certain that patients get the care they need, in a system that has safe working conditions and adequate staffing, so that we can provide the best healthcare and support to mental health patients and their families,” he said.