This strike highlights a growing crisis within the state’s healthcare system, which is facing escalating costs, an overwhelmed workforce, and a significant shortage of mental health professionals.
The cost of delivering healthcare has soared in recent years. Wages for clinicians have failed to keep up with the rising cost of living, while the prices of medications, medical equipment, prosthetics, and consumables continue to climb. As a result, the financial sustainability of the healthcare system is under severe strain.
Meanwhile, NSW Health is spending over $1B on a US-made Electronic Medical Record system despite clinician concerns that it’s being rushed, isn’t fit for purpose, and could risk patient safety. It begs the question: why invest so heavily in foreign tech when local solutions could better serve our health system and economy?
The crisis in NSW reflects a deeper national problem. Mental health services are underfunded, understaffed, and overwhelmed. Workers are exhausted. Patients are left behind. And government responses too often rely on short-term fixes or empty rhetoric.
Psychiatrists and psychologists are leaving the field at an alarming rate, further exacerbating the challenges facing patients and clinicians alike.
Information essential for the care of vulnerable patients is often not easily accessible, and the lack of integrated systems means that patients are only assessed and treated based on their immediate needs.
Ongoing treatment and self-assessments are often not tracked in a way that supports comprehensive care management.
The strain on mental health workers is compounded by a lack of support for their own well-being. As clinicians are tasked with managing increasingly complex and high volumes of patients, their mental and emotional health is frequently neglected.
The pressure to deliver quality care with limited resources and fragmented information is taking a significant toll on healthcare providers resulting in many simply walking away.
A solution to ease some of these pressures is the development of systems that allow patients to capture and share ongoing self-assessments, improving communication with clinicians and streamlining care.
Such systems would enable patients to track their own progress and adhere to treatment protocols, while clinicians could use this data to provide more personalised care. In turn, carers could be engaged to support the patient’s well-being, ensuring a more holistic approach to treatment.
MasterCare, an Australian-designed clinical platform, is one example of how technology can help alleviate some of the burden facing healthcare providers.
By using local solutions, Australian healthcare providers can improve patient care, while simultaneously supporting the local tech industry and the mental health of clinicians.
This week’s strike may disrupt services temporarily, but the broader risk is that nothing changes.
As NSW faces these mounting challenges, there’s a growing call for investment in local solutions that could not only improve patient care but also support the mental and physical well-being of healthcare workers.
Grant Smith is Independent Chairman of Global Health. He has had great involvement in the private hospital and general private health sector throughout his career. He established an independent funds management group and floated Hospitals of Australia, which owned and operated hospitals throughout Australia, and was the first healthcare investment fund in Australia. He developed and built the Medica Centre and opened the first digital private surgical hospital in Australia. Grant is currently involved in the development of new hospitals and is also involved in utilising digital technology to generate productivity for the healthcare sector.
