Lift the moratorium on psychiatrists now

IN the midst of a national crisis in accessing mental healthcare, and the now unfolding disaster in NSW as some 200 public system psychiatrists quit, it is incomprehensible that the Federal Government is restricting the supply of qualified and accredited psychiatrists in private hospitals.

"The Federal Government's 10-year moratorium on overseas-trained psychiatrists could, and should, be lifted today to allow these psychiatrists to provide in-hospital consultations in private hospitals now," APHA CEO Brett Heffernan said.

"With public hospitals overwhelmed, record waiting lists and many psychiatrists refusing to take any new patients at all, Australians are being denied the mental healthcare they urgently need due to bureaucratic red tape and ministerial intransigence.

"The situation in NSW should be a catalyst for the Federal Government to move now. With the NSW Government seeking to accommodate mental health needs in private psychiatric hospitals, the availability of more psychiatrists, is paramount.

"The moratorium restricts overseas-trained doctors from practicing in most private hospitals, limiting their activity to areas of designated workforce shortage. This definition ignores the ongoing critical need with respect to private in-patient psychiatric services that have arisen post-pandemic.

"With the backlog of patients needing in-hospital care exploding, the critical workforce demand for treatment of moderate-to-severe mental illness is most definitely apparent in private hospitals. The government's historical approach to moratorium setting is redundant and requires immediate correction.

"Over the last couple of years the crisis in psychiatric care has deepened. It has become harder and harder to find a psychiatrist. Events now unfolding across NSW are the last straw for a mental health system that desperately needs the Federal Minister for Health to move to avert a patient catastrophe.

"APHA raised this need two years ago. We did so again in November as part of the Private Hospital Viability Health Check. The Federal Government's decision to delay any decision on lifting the moratorium until after the Federal Election, is unconscionable and untenable. Why wait another six months?

"The lack of urgency in lifting the moratorium is an abandonment of patients with moderate-to-severe illness and the healthcare workers suffering daily under the pressure of an under-resourced system. The Federal Government has had ample warning and opportunity to act, but has, inexplicably, chosen to do nothing.

"The government's choice to delay any decision for another six months while our healthcare system crumbles ignores real people with real lives enduring real suffering. Yet another refusal to act would speak volumes about the Federal Government's priorities.

"The delay is not an inconvenience, it's harmful to the patients who are waiting for care and to the healthcare workers who are already stretched to their breaking point. Lifting the moratorium would open the door for highly trained psychiatrists to ease the burden on patients and the system.

"Hospitals – public and private – are facing an unprecedented crisis due to a lack of psychiatrists and other healthcare professionals. The delay in lifting the moratorium means hospitals will continue to be understaffed and patients will wait longer for care that needs to be provided to them now.

"Lifting the moratorium will provide immediate relief, helping both public and private healthcare providers to manage patient load and reduce strain on hospital staff. The Federal Government must stop dragging its feet. Lifting the moratorium now will make a tangible difference to patients and healthcare providers, alike."

-ENDS-

Next Media Centre:
10/2/2025 It's broke so fix it!

Previous Media Centre:
16/1/2025 Annual premium charade continues