The Australian Medical Association (ACT) has written to health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith urging her government to “mend fences” with senior doctors at Calvary Public Hospital Bruce.
At a town hall meeting last week, the hospital’s doctors said they were shocked, dismayed, and angered the ACT Government did not consult them about the compulsory acquisition (or “hostile takeover”, as the opposition labelled it) of the Catholic hospital.
“The overwhelming message from our Town Hall meeting was that senior doctors and other staff have been ignored by the ACT Government and given no opportunity for consultation or to warn against the mistakes the Government is making,” Professor Walter Abhayaratna, AMA ACT president, said.
“The senior doctors … wanted to tell the ACT Government that they have set a terrible precedent.”
The ACT Government announced earlier this month that it would compulsorily acquire Canberra Hospital, and build a new $1 billion hospital upon the site. Operation of the public hospital would transfer from Calvary to Canberra Health Services in July – despite the government’s agreement with Calvary having 75 years to run.
Ms Stephen-Smith claimed that negotiations with Calvary had broken down – which Calvary denies.
Calvary national CEO Martin Bowles said Calvary had received no correspondence from the ACT Government since November, until the government advised him, two days before its public announcement, that they would introduce a Bill in the Legislative Assembly “to effectively circumvent commercial negotiations and achieve by way of legislation the outcome they wanted”. Many of the hospital’s staff only learnt about the takeover through the media.
Professor Abhayaratna said senior medical staff felt disrespected and excluded from a process that should have included them.
Many of the doctors had served with Calvary for decades, Professor Abhayaratna noted. “They deserve to be respected….”
A spokesperson for Calvary said the hospital was disappointed in the government’s “lack of consultation and little regard” for the 1,800 staff and the patients.
“The proposed legislation and unrealistic timeframes put our operations, our workforce, and ultimately patient safety at risk,” the spokesperson said. “We expect to see our staff consulted properly and treated with respect, and we will continue to advocate for them.”
The AMA ACT’s letter to Ms Stephen-Smith, Professor Abhayaratna said, “calls on the Government to treat clinicians respectfully, undertake careful and extensive consultation, and provide certainty and stability to the senior medical staff.”
Professor Abhayaratna asked Ms Stephen-Smith to reply urgently. The AMA ACT will hold its next Town Hall meeting with the Calvary senior medical staff on Tuesday night.
Shadow health minister Leanne Castley said: “A clear lack of consultation with doctors and other staff proves this arrogant government will forge ahead with the hostile takeover of Calvary Hospital, even after being warned of the consequences.
“This is more evidence that the Chief Minister [Andrew Barr] and Health Minister are hellbent on this takeover, no matter the consequences to the Canberra community.”
Professor Abhayaratna said it was clear that Calvary needed to continue to provide services to its consumers, “despite all that has gone on. AMA ACT and the Calvary doctors know only too well the demands that are being made on our healthcare system at the present time, and how stretched things are.”
Canberra Weekly contacted the ACT Government for a response this morning.