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Updated May 21, 2026 \u2014 6:03pm,first published 3:11pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Junior doctors at a Sydney hospital are furious after receiving a memo from their bosses that they characterise as a thinly veiled threat to their careers, and the suggestion that they\u2019re not tough enough to work in the state\u2019s healthcare system.<\/p>\n The email sent by Nepean Hospital\u2019s administration to junior medical officers last week is emblematic of the ongoing tension \u2013 expressed in all caps \u2013 between NSW\u2019s public hospitals\u2019 attempts to adequately staff increasingly busy emergency departments and inpatient units, and overworked junior doctors who are expected to do unpaid overtime.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a report released on Thursday by the doctors\u2019 union suggested one in three doctors employed by NSW public hospitals is considering resigning due to working up to 70 hours a week.<\/p>\n The stated aim of the note to Nepean\u2019s junior doctors was to \u201cclarify some trends\u201d and \u201cmisunderstandings of rostering\u201d and appeared to address inappropriate use of sick leave, reminding junior doctors that it is to be used when they are ill, not for life events or future engagements.<\/p>\n \u201cIT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to swap out of the shifts [sic],\u201d read the letter posted on Reddit.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cCollegiality should result in offers to help those helping you,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n The note acknowledged the risk of fatigue, noting \u201cthe roster is designed to ensure NO ONE is exhausted\u201d, and suggests some junior doctors were constantly covering shifts for their colleagues.<\/p>\n \u201c[T]here is an implicit acceptance when entering medicine, you are going to be exposed to after-hours and nights BECAUSE all doctors cover these hours because healthcare is 24\/7,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n \u201cYour careers will be hopefully long .. [sic],\u201d the note concluded: \u201cPlease come and make contact if you are struggling now, as it\u2019s not a great indicator for longevity in the profession if you are already feeling the strain from rosters, which unfortunately are absolutely standard for health [sic].\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, a spokesperson for the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District apologised to the junior medical officers (JMOs) for the email.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know JMOs are the future of healthcare, and we deeply value their contribution,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cSupporting the wellbeing of our JMOs is a priority for our district, and we acknowledge this email did not reflect this.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokesperson said senior doctors met JMOs to discuss rostering practices, and stated rostering was in line with safe working standards and fatigue management guidelines.<\/p>\n A Nepean staff specialist not authorised to speak publicly said their junior doctors\u2019 colleagues were deeply upset by the note, which \u201camounted to a thinly veiled threat\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt essentially implied that they would be blacklisted,\u201d the staff specialist said. \u201cWe already have a recruitment and retention problem \u2026 these are the [junior doctors] who chose to stay when the vast majority leave, and they are being punished for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Junior doctors agreed that sick leave should be used appropriately, the staff specialist said. But the tone of the email was insulting, given that many had raised concerns about being overworked or about their units being understaffed, and they were met with a sluggish response.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery cohort is going to have people who call in sick when they\u2019re not sick, especially if they are disgruntled because they are getting treated terribly \u2026 it\u2019s a tale as old as time,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) NSW said the statement was indicative of administrators blaming doctors for systemic failures, including ongoing recruitment and retention issues.<\/p>\n Last year, NSW Health apologised after an administrator at John Hunter Hospital accidentally sent an email to junior doctors calling them a \u201cworkforce of clinical marshmallows [sic]\u201d in response to rostering issues.<\/p>\n \u201cNSW Health does not place any maximum limit on the number of hours a doctor can work in a day,\u201d the union\u2019s president, Dr Nicholas Spooner, said. \u201cA bus driver is legislatively prohibited from working more than 12 hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctors at Nepean reported working up to 17-hour days, often back-to-back for up to two weeks.<\/p>\n Spooner said failures to manage fatigue were having severe psychological impacts on doctors and risked compromising patient care.<\/p>\n Junior clinicians and senior specialists have repeatedly warned<\/a> that unpaid overtime is baked into Australia\u2019s hospital system as a Band-Aid for understaffing, and overworking junior staff to the point of exhaustion can lead to medical errors.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for NSW Health said that situations will arise in which doctors may be required to work additional hours to ensure patients can be confident they are receiving the highest-quality medical care, and staff can perform their duties without adverse effects from fatigue.<\/p>\n From June, NSW Health will meet regularly with ASMOF and the Health Services Union to develop additional standards, controls and strategies to support fatigue management for JMOs, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n ASMOF and NSW Health are in arbitration before the Industrial Relations Commission, with the union seeking pay parity with other states for NSW\u2019s public hospital-employed doctors.<\/p>\n Some key findings from a survey of 2681 NSW public hospital doctorsOne in two worked more than 50 hours in the previous weekOne in three worked more than 55 hoursOne in eight worked more than 70 hours63.5 per cent said excessive workloads were affecting their health and wellbeing69 per cent said they had worked sick or injured32.6 per cent said their roster did not allow the mandated 10 hours\u2019 rest between shifts (overtime and on-call duties meant the true prevalence was likely higher)32.1 per cent said they had considered resigningStaffing shortages were seen as routine and poorly managed<\/p>\n Source: \u2018Results of the ASMOF Award Arbitration Survey 2025\u2019, Dr Sarah Wise et al, School of Public Health, UTS. Commissioned by ASMOF NSW<\/p>\n A 2020 Black Dog Institute study involving just under 43,000 Australian doctors found that more than\u00a0one-quarter of\u00a0<\/a>junior doctors were working unsafe hours, which doubled their risk of developing mental health problems and suicidal ideation.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e8bc6d64a76591c492100a208e4c3eaa0df34974.jpeg\")
The letter sent by Nepean Hospital administrators is the latest attempt to blame individual junior doctors for systemic failings, ASMOF NSW said.James Brickwood<\/p>\n![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4064ae1a96d0c24141ad1b552e35d0ca30fd8aae.jpeg\")
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