Did you know doctors are not exempt from interstate travel restrictions? Australia had a doctor shortage in regional areas before COVID, but complicated border restrictions exacerbate this.
Regional and remote areas rely on locum doctors flying from one side of the country to another to provide specialised medical services. These doctors are confirmed far in advance to secure their time – plane tickets, hotels and motels booked, paperwork and background checklists thoroughly ticked off – most importantly, patients are booked in for the locum doctor to see.
When interstate border restrictions happen, the doctor cannot go or risks quarantining. Due to the shortage of doctors, there is often no one to replace them at the last minute. You then end up in the situation of that regional community going without the healthcare they deserve.
I understood why it is easier to have blanket rules, especially at the pandemic's beginning. Now it is doing more harm than good. It is dangerous to stop doctors from flying. I am calling for a nuanced approach. Now is the time to allow doctors to fly to where they need to be.
Decision-makers talk about 'keeping us safe', but unseen consequences exist. If these consequences remain unseen and unspoken, then who is held accountable?
I feel in a unique position as a doctor recruitment agency owner to see first-hand the lack of joined-up thinking in Australia with border rules. Prescript Recruitment has a helicopter view of what is happening across every State and Territory. We help fill critical vacancies. We see each day how well-meaning rules to protect us are making people sick.
Let me share a typical day for the Prescript team working from home:
ABC News 24 on in the background
Morning team zoom meeting "We're expecting a government press conference at 11"
We regroup at Midday to digest the latest news.
What action do we need to take?
➞ Which locum doctors can't go to where Prescript booked them?
➞ Which locum doctors can't get home from where they are working currently?
➞ What help can we provide in replacing a locum doctor for a hospital?
➞ Can a doctor race across a border right now before the roadblocks are in place?
➞ Due to uncertainty, which doctors have to cancel their future booked locum positions?
The news channel announces another rule change from another state or territory.
We regroup to digest the latest news.
We action 1 to 5 again.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
This isn't about the impact on Prescript, but it paints a picture of the chaos caused by a border closure. Imagine the hundreds of patients having appointments cancelled behind every locum doctor cancellation. You might not even know, as a patient, you have missed out on doctors services. Is the delay you experienced to see a specialist expected or the direct result of a doctor trapped on the wrong side of a border?
In just the last few days, WA putting restrictions on doctors travelling has meant cities (we are not talking remote) have to go without certain specialist coverage. Is the consequence of that quantifiable?
Something that I can see that won't appear on any report is all the missed opportunities. Uncertainty with borders makes doctors hesitant to put their hands up for locum work. There have been so many false starts that it makes sense for a doctor to stick closer to home. Why risk a trip to a remote part of Australia when you might lose that income or lose that chance to help? We can never know all the good that hasn't happened – these are the locum positions that were not cancelled but never even started—missed opportunities for patients and communities.
What is the solution? I believe the federal, state and territory governments can make doctors the exception that proves the rule. Doctors who are double vaccinated, boosted and willing to fly should be allowed to. Time to move away from black & white and find the grey in-between – it is in the grey that we will see better healthcare.
To be clear – there must still be rules. Remember, though, that there are always rules for locum doctors. The paperwork for a locum position in regular times could make your toes curl – credentialing, qualification checks, police reports, references, immunisation history (this bit is nothing to do with COVID vaccine – it's all the other immunisations doctors have to prove). The point is that if you are going to let any section of the community cross borders, you can trust that doctors will be willing and happy to provide whatever assurances are needed.
Let's throw away these blanket rules that are stopping doctors fly. If you want exceptional healthcare from exceptional doctors, l say let's put an exception in place now!
About James Hill
James is a medical recruitment specialist. He is passionate about helping regional hospitals and practices across Australia find doctors for their permanent and locum positions.
As the founder of Prescript Recruitment, he has the practical experience of delivering an exceptional recruitment service for doctors with the result that communities everywhere have the healthcare they deserve.
James has fifteen years of working with healthcare providers, and this has given him a first-hand insight into the issues they face to attract doctors. His successful track record of filling locum and permanent positions in every State and Territory means he knows what strategies work and what don't.
Adelaide is home to the Prescript mascot Bonnie, and that is where you can find James. Borders permitting (we are all familiar with this!) James is often hopping on a plane to visit colleagues in Hobart, Sydney, Melbourne and all the remote corners of NSW.
There are three ways to contact James:
Call James on 0410 792 310
Email james@prescript.com.au
Click 'Connect with Prescript’
“I believe for you to partner with the right medical recruitment agency, that reflects your wishes and lifestyle choices, is so important. Prescript’s focus is on what matters most to you, whatever stage of your career, your location or your future plans.”
“Prescript are medical recruitment specialists.”
At Prescript we’re known for helping solve the regional doctor shortage in Australia.
Every day we’re focused on two clear outcomes - Helping hospitals find doctors that create departments and clinics that run better, have more capacity and less stress. And placing Doctors in jobs that leave them feeling highly valued, rewarded and, most importantly, enjoying what they do.
We believe that when we get these two crucial things right, it has a huge impact on the regional doctor shortage and the healthcare of communities across Australia.
There are three ways to contact us:
Call 1300 755 498
Email contact@prescript.com.au
Click 'Connect with Prescript'
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“We’re known for helping solve the regional doctor shortage, leaving doctors loving what they do and regional communities feeling like they have the best doctors in town.”