Message from the Chair

It was energising to be in a room with like-minded leaders all coming together to improve the wellbeing of doctors and other health professionals. It is promising that discussions centred about addressing the cultural and structural factors that impact doctor wellbeing. I’ll also be presenting at the Medical Board of Australia conference this week which is themed around the culture of medicine and looking at what has been achieved since the Culture of Medicine Symposium in 2022. 

AMACDT’s advocacy including advocating for embedding psychosocial safety within the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, and for legislation compelling hospital and health service boards to have responsibility for the psychosocial safety of its staff. While legislative and regulatory changes addressing the psychosocial safety of healthcare professionals is not a complete answer in evolving the culture within health settings, it is a key tool in creating widespread behavioural and organisational change. By enshrining responsibility for psychosocial safety into regulation and key standards it will ensure protections are monitored and enacted shifting the culture of medicine and hospital working environments. 

To address the structural factors affecting doctor wellbeing such as safe rostering hours, hospital staffing, and creating a psychosocially safe working environments, hospitals and health systems need to be appropriately resourced. Next Tuesday 9 May, the federal government will have an opportunity to begin addressing these entrenched issues within our health system through the release of its 2023-24 budget. 

This is an opportunity for the federal government to begin address the deep issues affecting our health system such as our GP crisis and hospital logjams. We look forward to seeing what the budget can deliver for doctors, healthcare systems and patients. 

Hannah