AUSTRALIA’S salaried doctors trade union is demanding Canberra Health Services (CHS) address a “chronic shortage” of senior and junior medical staff at Canberra Hospital.

The calls from the ACT branch of the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) follow the recent release of a report summary conducted into the intensive care unit (ICU) at Canberra Hospital.

The report found staff are “fatigued, feel unsupported, undervalued and did not feel they were sufficiently skilled to take on duties allocated to them”.

Executive Officer of the ASMOF ACT Branch Steve Ross has warned of a continued exodus of medical staff from the hospital, describing the facility as having a “poor culture”.

“The brief for the ICU Review clearly shows that the Executive’s focus is on individuals, rather than the context of workloads, staffing and systemic issues within the Hospital Executive,” said Ross.

“Of particular concern is that staff shortages and the workloads of senior medical staff are affecting the accreditation of pre-vocational training at Canberra Hospital for junior medical staff, who are as a consequence more likely to choose employment in another jurisdiction, compounding the problems.

The union has warned of a “very real and immediate threat” of psychosocial injury to medical staff, with members increasingly reporting being extremely stressed, and having to seek medical assistance or access personal leave.

“Additionally, ASMOF members who raise these issues appear to then find themselves the subject of complaint. It is critical for action to be taken to amend these problems and address the systemic issues within Canberra Hospital,” said Ross

According to ASMOF, the hospital executive suspended four cardiologists (with pay) in March.

“It has now been six months since their suspension, but the reviews have not yet concluded despite being outsourced to another law firm,” reads a statement from the union.

“Other cardiologists have subsequently left the service. The suspended cardiologists attempted to raise concerns with the executive as far back as 2018 about the management of the service.”

“Severe shortages of senior medical staff currently exist across the service, including in paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and mental health, which are resulting in the ceasing of some service delivery and the occurrence of critical incidents. Some ACT patients are even being sent to Sydney.”