ADTOA Press Release Jan 2, 2010
Retention not conscription! The
ten year moratorium must end.
ADTOA calls for the
government to abolish the ten year moratorium and adopt alternative strategies
to support IMGs working
in rural and remote settings to address the rural medical
workforce shortage.
Australia has the dubious distinction of being the only OCED
country where a doctor’s rights are largely determined by their country
of origin in the form of the ten -year moratorium. The moratorium is a blatant form of discrimination which
contravenes the international charter of Human Rights of which Australia is a
signatory. Nonetheless it would
seem that Australia would rather continue to exploit its international medical manpower
than impose similar expectations on its Australian born doctors and improve
working conditions in the bush.
An important question that needs to be raised is why are
Australian born doctors exempt from these geographical restrictions? The government is honest in that they
acknowledge that imposing restrictions on Australian medical (born) graduates
might be interpreted as contravening their constitutional rights. This raises a troublesome question
however. How can the government
justify discriminating against one class of Australian citizens based solely on
their country of origin?
Shouldn’t all Australian citizens have the same constitutional
rights?
The argument has been made that the ten-year moratorium is a
necessary evil to ensure that adequate health care is provided to Australians
who live in rural and remote areas.
There is no question that the sudden abolition of the ten-year
moratorium could have a negative impact on the rural medical workforce
particularly in the short term. Nonetheless,
historically similar arguments could be made for the continued exploitation of
all politically vulnerable groups.
Australia exploits its IMG workforce. They expect them to work long hours
under difficult conditions with little or no support. They are not even eligible for medicare or educational support for their families. Many are subject to serious workforce
and institutional bullying which further threatens their mental health. To add insult to injury there is no one
that they can turn to for help.
While the government provides significant financial support
to the many medical
accreditation, registration and education authorities that make
up the Australian medical system, IMGs are largely ignored by the government in
terms of financial and administrative support. This is the thanks that IMGs get for
their invaluable contribution to this country
Nicola Roxon has called for alternative suggestions to
address the rural medical workforce shortage. The Department of Health has already identified
the major barriers to the retention of IMGs in its Primary Health Care
report. These include the need for
better supervision and support, professional educational opportunities and
recognition of IMG qualifications and training by Australian accreditation
organizations. We would suggest
that if the government adopted the following strategies it would significantly
improve the working conditions for IMGs and address the issues that they have
identified. These include:
- IMGs
and their families should have access to medicare
and educational benefits for the duration of their services.
- IMGs
should receive support towards obtaining Australian medical qualifications
commiserate to that received by post graduate trainees
- More
valid and fair assessment of IMG qualifications including education and
prior work experience with a focus on the assessment of competency not
equivalency.
- The
development of a national scheme to provide better supervision, mentoring,
personal support and continuing professional development for IMGs working
in rural areas.
- Provide
better support for a national advocacy scheme for IMGs
- The abolition of all unfair and
discriminatory policies towards IMGs including 19aa and 19ab of the health
insurance act
The ten year moratorium is an affront to human rights and is
an international embarrassment for Australia.
The government must
take action now to end this shameful era of medical apartheid
Contact Dr Sue
Douglas 0435 255 475 or 02 6161-0748
Authorized by ADTOA Management Jan 2, 2010
