Victoria Doctors Strike Over Fatigue and Patient Safety

Melbourne — Doctors across Victoria are staging their first statewide work stoppage in more than 25 years, demanding urgent action from the Carroll Labor Government over excessive working hours, acute fatigue and what they say are growing risks to patient safety.

The four-hour strike runs from 1:30pm to 5:30pm today, on October 1, with emergency departments excluded from the action.

The doctors said staffing will remain at Saturday levels during the stoppage to protect patients.

They will also rally outside the Victorian Parliament, where they are calling on the Government to address working conditions they say are contributing to exhaustion and burnout.

Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) Victoria president Dr. Roderick McRae, said doctors were routinely working shifts of up to 14 hours, and longer during emergencies, sometimes for up to seven consecutive days.

“Our members are routinely forced to work shifts of up to 14 hours and longer during emergencies, up to seven days a week, back to back,” Dr. McRae said.

He said doctors had limited guarantees of consecutive days off and often lacked adequate recovery time between shifts, creating what he described as acute fatigue and burnout.

Senior medical registrar, Dr. Zak Doherty, said the demands were taking a direct toll on doctors’ ability to function safely.

“I might be getting three or four hours a night sleep. In those sorts of conditions, it can be really challenging and I feel for the patients, when they’re looking at me, they can tell I’m exhausted,” Dr. Doherty said.

The industrial action follows 14 months of negotiations involving more than 60 meetings, according to the Australian Medical Association Victoria.

Australian Medical Association (AMA) Victoria president, Dr. Simon Judkins, said doctors had raised concerns with the Department of Health and three separate health ministers without receiving an offer.

“Doctors have patiently articulated their concerns to the Department of Health and to three separate health ministers about unsustainable working hours, fatigue and the threat to patient safety, but after months of inaction, that patience has come to an end,” Dr. Judkins said.

The doctors are seeking a 12.5-hour cap on shifts and a guarantee of three consecutive days off during each fortnight of work.

Dr. Judkins said the measures were consistent with fatigue-management practices in other emergency services and were intended to improve both working conditions and patient safety.

“These are basic measures to manage fatigue and to protect patient safety,” he said.

The unions said doctors would continue industrial action and advocacy until the Government provides a response to their demands.

In response to the historic industrial action, Victorian Government front-bencher, Tim Richardson, has been quoted in the press defending the Carroll Labor Government, asserting that Health Minister Ingrid Stitt is working diligently to support health workers and will do everything possible to ensure doctors receive a good deal.