MODBURY HOSPITAL

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:21): My question is to the Minister for Health. Have orthopaedic surgery appointments been deferred at Modbury Hospital following a dispute between the government and specialists and, if so, how many patients are affected and are nursing staff having to take leave?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts) (14:21): I thank the member for Morphett for his question. I have some information about this, which I am happy to share with the house. I am advised that the Modbury Hospital orthopaedic surgeons—and I think there are about half a dozen, but three senior ones—were offered new contracts of employment in accordance with the standard contract that had been developed by the Department for Health and Ageing. These are, as I understand, visiting medical specialists, and we recently negotiated new arrangements and they are being signed with specialists who work part-time (that is what a VMS is) right across the state.

The Modbury Hospital orthopaedic surgeons have sought a collective agreement via codicil as an addendum to the offer of employment, more recently via what they call a quality and safety agreement between the orthopaedic surgeons at Modbury and Northern Adelaide Local Health Network. The items identified in the codicil are not employment issues but, rather, operational matters and include:

committing to administrative support and office equipment;

removing the requirement to work across multiple campuses and maintaining existing medical practitioner staffing levels and engaging additional, up to four, medical practitioners where existing medical practitioners are of remedial standard;

having dedicated car parking for the Modbury Hospital visiting medical specialists within a certain distance from the boom gates, I understand;

selecting the Modbury Hospital head of the orthopaedic service from within the existing group of orthopaedic surgeons at Modbury Hospital (that is, to not follow the human resources process for the selection of a head of service);

allowing the Modbury Hospital orthopaedic unit to remain independent of the northern Adelaide health network clinical division structure (in other words, having a separate autonomy);

establishing appropriate resources for a diabetic foot and ankle clinic within two years;

immediately recalling provisions as prescribed in the SA Health Visiting Medical Specialist Enterprise Agreement 2009; and

expanding the arthroplasty service agreement provided at Modbury.

In other words, they have a whole lot of conditions which are outside of the realm of the industrial arrangements which we have entered into with others. The Northern Adelaide Local Health Network senior managers have met with reps of the hospital group on a number of occasions. SA Health's position is that the codicil, or similar arrangements, do not form part of any employment conditions.

The conditions requested by the Modbury Hospital orthopaedic surgeons are a matter for management and are operational in nature. The chief executive officer and the director of medical services of the network have had communication with the AMA to attempt to resolve the matter. Correspondence was sent to them on 9 September seeking the surgeons involved to provide a written collective consensus on the matters they consider to be negotiable or not negotiable. At present, the orthopaedic surgeons refuse to accept the offer of employment.

My understanding, from when I was briefed on this last week, is that one or perhaps two operations have been delayed. This is clearly unfortunate, but we have to operate a system-wide approach. I do not want to go back to the days which were all over the place, when I first became health minister, where we had breakout arrangements in place with various groups of surgeons. We have a standard set of arrangements, and if they do not like those conditions, which are outside the enterprise agreement, they should discuss it with management and get a resolution that way.