Page 672 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
There has been significant collaboration across the system to understand the gaps in training and ensure that any investment in training will have an immediate impact for our workforce. Data-informed decision-making has become another area of focus for the health system. Managers are being supported with access to workforce data via dashboard reports. These dashboards are being further developed and matured over time, incorporating data from a range of sources, including pulse surveys, which are being conducted in Canberra Health Services.
It is essential that our workforce feels safe, supported, valued and engaged. For that to occur, communication needs to be frequent and relevant. The current communications and engagement strategy is supported by an action plan for each phase of the program. A key topic of conversation at the oversight group workshop on 25 August 2020 was how to better communicate the connection between the changes staff are seeing on the ground and system-level reform.
There is a significant amount of work underway and planned for the coming months, with deliberate investment in developing and shaping positive workplaces across the ACT public health system. The gains achieved to date have been supported by the findings of the inaugural annual review, but we note that there is more to do.
Last year I committed to providing the Assembly with an update on the progress of reducing junior doctor burnout and exhaustion, particularly at Canberra Health Services. The government is committed to providing the best possible environment for junior doctors and regularly assesses its performance and monitors feedback from the junior medical workforce through a variety of resources, including but not limited to: a review commissioned in late 2019 of the ACT physician training network; satisfaction surveys of trainees through the ACT physician training network; the 2020 Medical Board of Australia’s medical training survey; and clinicians and staff across CHS through our workplace culture pulse survey.
These sources indicate that the bulk of the training offered is tracking in the right direction. For example, demand for junior medical officer, or JMO, positions at CHS remains very high, with an applicant to position ratio of four to one for 2021. The ACT’s pass rate for JMO exams improved in 2020, with 80 per cent passing their exams in the ACT compared to 75 per cent nationally. According to the Medical Board’s survey, improvements have been made in terms of JMOs recommending CHS as a place to train, and knowing how to raise a concern about bullying, harassment or discrimination. There has also been an improvement in JMOs reporting good work-life balance in the ACT.
Do we have more to do? Absolutely, but we are moving in the right direction. Medical Board satisfaction results for the training and professional development plans of prevocational and unaccredited trainees showed that the ACT is on par with or better than the national result, with more than 90 per cent agreeing that their plan is helping them to develop as a doctor, prepare for medical practice and advance their knowledge.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video