Telstra Putting Doctors Offside
The Australian Medical Association today said Telstra was putting doctors offside following its decision to scrap its paging service on June 30.
AMA Federal President, Dr David Brand, said Telstra had informed the AMA that its decision to close down the service was for financial reasons, claiming the business was no longer viable.
"We understand that the customer base for pagers is declining by 10 to 12% a year and that paging services may only have a business viability of three to five years," Dr Brand said.
"However, pagers for the medical profession are not about business, they are about health.
"We acknowledge that in September last year, Telstra informed doctors using its paging service that it would be closing down in June. Telstra also offered its digital mobile service as an alternative or offered to help customers transfer their paging business to another paging provider.
"We would have preferred Telstra to have entered discussions with the AMA about the future of paging services in Australia, to have discussed alternative paging services and the future of electronic communications for health professionals.
"A number of AMA members have expressed their disappointment about the loss of this service. Some have been pleased because they have found a cheaper service while other doctors have been happy to change to digital mobile phones.
"However, pagers are more reliable that mobiles for a number of reasons, such as:
- they have a better range in rural areas;
- unlike mobile phones they can be used near sensitive electronic medical equipment like the equipment in operating theatres and intensive care units;
- they are cheaper to run; and
- they are more convenient and easier to use and carry in a clinical setting.
"Telstra has been encouraging its paging service customers to change to mobiles. That's fine for the business sector, but for rural doctors, obstetricians, anaesthetists and many other doctors who are on call 24 hours, mobiles are not necessarily the answer to their professional needs.
"We are calling on Telstra to enter talks with the AMA about the future of telecommunications for health professionals and to facilitate a smooth transition process for doctors to ensure they will be contactable 24 hours day.
"We need an assurance from Telstra and the broader telecommunications industry that a pager service will continue until a cost effective replacement service is developed that provides the same service or a superior paging service," Dr Brand said.