QANTAS Dispute Could Cause Health Service Disruption For Rural Areas

Online, October 30, 2011 (Newswire.com) - It won't be news to you that over the weekend, QANTAS took the rare step of initiating a lockout of its staff following disputes with a number of employee unions.

There was a lot of talk about inconvenience to holidaymakers, the tourism industry, and the Melbourne Cup being disrupted by this extraordinary event.

However, with any number of healthcare workers travelling around Australia to fill critical positions in hospitals, clinics and other facilities, there was huge potential for there to be a real and tangible effect on the provision of services to patients around Australia.

When a highly skilled professional is expected to arrive in a marginally staffed facility over a weekend, and does not arrive, the effect can be devastating to the local community.

Beat Medical sends doctors and other professionals around Australia and the region on flights in big volumes every year.

This weekend, as soon as we heard the news, we were immediately reviewing travel plans to make sure the disruption to our clients, and to the doctors working with us was minimal, or nil. Thankfully, we were able to ensure that all of the staff we had committed to work over the weekend arrived, and will be able to return home.

For now, the dispute is on hold pending further resolution, however we call on both parties to consider the effect on the health system, and to ensure that those who are travelling to work in critical areas such as healthcare are given priority for flights.

This article was written by Beat Medical, a recruitment agency dedicated to placing specialist doctors in locum doctors jobs around Australia.