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Drilling down, there was $1.2 billion for major public hospital infrastructure and $420 million dedicated to mental health. There was $920 million for core services, including hospital care and health-related COVID-19 response. 

Just the day before, in another jurisdiction, there was highly targeted money being put on the table. 

The Queensland Government announced attraction and retention packages for doctors of $20,000 for metropolitan jobs and $70,000 for rural jobs. This was to stop the exodus after New South Wales and Victoria introduced packages in 2022. Apparently, incentives work to attract and retain workforce. 

The AMA (WA) welcomes the McGowan Government’s assistance with the attraction of new nurses in WA as seen in the budget. This shows incentives are on the table. 

It makes it particularly galling that WA’s junior doctors have been left so far behind. 

In my budget response, I raised the AMA (WA)’s concerns regarding the absence of support packages for our overstretched and undervalued junior doctor workforce.   

“Disappointingly, there is nothing in the State Budget to assist with the support, retention and attraction of this vital, frontline hospital doctor workforce,” I said. 

“It is clear that the concerns we have been raising with WA Health for the past six months – increasing costs of professional development, junior doctor burnout, restricted or no access to basic entitlements like annual leave – have fallen on deaf ears.” 

As I said in an opinion piece in The West Australian on Wednesday this week: 

“Unfortunately, salt was metaphorically rubbed into the wounds of junior doctors mid-2022, when the Premier said several times in the media that the new wages policy of 3 per cent salary increase effective 1 July 2022 would apply to doctors. Junior doctors specifically questioned their local members of parliament, who advised them they had been told the premier was correct in his public assertions.  

Regrettably, despite also being the treasurer, the premier was wrong.” 

I’ve tried to make it clear to the McGowan Government that the junior doctor workforce is a mobile, national workforce and the McGowan Government needs to do more for the well-being, attraction and retention of junior staff as an intrinsic part of the rehabilitation of our state healthcare system. 

As I stated in that opinion piece: 

“The Government has previously stated that economic circumstances, great beaches and weather are enough to bring doctors to WA. However, Queensland has a good economy, great beaches and weather too, as well as these new incentives to attract interstate doctors, including our WA doctors. 

“The AMA (WA) calls on the McGowan Government to reconsider their position on junior doctor well-being, an attraction and retention program, and to engage in good faith with the AMA (WA) to keep our doctors here in WA where we need them. 

 “No DITs means no workhorse, no backbone and no public healthcare system… and that is not a ‘junior’ problem.”