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Speaker 1: And we know that the numbers when it comes to

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Speaker 1: COVID are continuing to grow across the Northern Territory and

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Speaker 1: the stress on our hospital system has prompted the head

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Speaker 1: of the Australian Medical Association here in the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: as well as the Northern Territory's Nurses Federation, to call

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Speaker 1: for a Code BROWN to be declared here.

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Speaker 2: In the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line is doctor Robert Parker,

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Speaker 1: the President of the AMA here in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, doctor Parker, Morning Katie, doctor Parker.

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Speaker 1: Why do we need to call for a Code bround

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Speaker 1: to be implemented.

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Speaker 3: Well, basically, we're dealing with a bunch of health heroes

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Speaker 3: are exhausted. I mean, we're actually I was actually we

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Speaker 3: were talking about this issue at AMA Council last night.

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Speaker 3: One of my colleagues was saying that basically he's trying

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Speaker 3: to operate a department with half his consultants away on

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Speaker 3: COVID furlough and they're having to adjust rosters and fill

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Speaker 3: those rosters so that people are away with they still

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Speaker 3: got to do the work. And he was saying every

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Speaker 3: day he looks at these rats is hope it's a

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Speaker 3: positive so we can actually get a ten day break.

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Speaker 3: And it's really sad with someone actually hoping to catch

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Speaker 3: COVID to actually give themselves a break from the current

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Speaker 3: stress that they're.

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Speaker 1: Under well, And it really just demonstrates to you what

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Speaker 1: a difficult situation our nurses, doctors, cleaners, absolutely everyone within

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Speaker 1: our health system are under at this point, doctor Parker.

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Speaker 1: I mean obviously our staff not only being stressed but

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Speaker 1: also suffering from COVID is having an impact as well well.

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Speaker 3: Again it's affecting the workforce, so people are having to

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Speaker 3: be fur laid off because they've caught COVID and other

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Speaker 3: stuff are having to fill the gap, you know, so

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Speaker 3: the health system has to continue to operate. And I

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Speaker 3: mean one of the reasons, as we put in the

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Speaker 3: press release, that we've decided to call to ask for

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Speaker 3: the cod brown is because again things bubble up, you know,

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Speaker 3: and we think that the nurses strike yesterday in New

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Speaker 3: South Wales was an aspect of that significant frustration as

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Speaker 3: much as an industrial issue. So we're hoping to avoid

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Speaker 3: you know, the A m A and the a n

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Speaker 3: T and the nursing Wiffing Federation. I hope to avoid

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Speaker 3: a similar situation in the territory where people where health

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Speaker 3: workers say to the streets out of frustration against the

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Speaker 3: current COVID difidemic.

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Speaker 2: Doctor Parker, What exactly would a Code Brown mean?

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Speaker 3: Well, it just it allows the department to say we've

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Speaker 3: got a formal major problem here and to reallocate resources

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Speaker 3: to come. I mean the department's doing that anyway through

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Speaker 3: just day to day adjustment to things. And but you know,

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Speaker 3: and in Victoria was a much more complex situation with

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Speaker 3: a lot more hospitals, so you've got to you've got

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Speaker 3: a lot more resources to adjust. But I suppose it

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Speaker 3: just gives the work is in the system the support

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Speaker 3: that they you know that the government and the Health

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Speaker 3: department support. They're under very difficult situations at the moment,

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Speaker 3: and I mean them has acted on this because a

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Speaker 3: number of you know, very senior medical positions have you know,

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Speaker 3: given the indications they would like a code ground called

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Speaker 3: because of the stress they're under. And obviously the AMWF

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Speaker 3: has also been away from their members about that significant

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Speaker 3: stress as well, which is why they've joined us in

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Speaker 3: the Code Brown.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well we are going to catch up with Cath

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Speaker 1: Hatcher after ten o'clock this morning and find out more

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Speaker 1: about it from the nurse's perspective as well, Doctor Parker,

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Speaker 1: is there a situation here where there just isn't enough staff?

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Speaker 3: Well, that's right. I mean we've only got you've only

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Speaker 3: got a certain number of staff are employed, and again

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Speaker 3: a lot of those stuff are going off sick with

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Speaker 3: COVID and other people have just got to fill the gaps.

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Speaker 3: We know we're not. We haven't got to suppose the

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Speaker 3: reserve that some other states in homage retired staff, you know,

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Speaker 3: the older population potentially can be called back in to assist.

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Speaker 3: So the territory has always had that issue with a

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Speaker 3: much younger transient starting reserve, which makes it more difficult

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Speaker 3: I suppose to try and fill the gaps when you've

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Speaker 3: got situations like this.

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Speaker 2: In other states.

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Speaker 1: My understanding is that that in some cases the ADF

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Speaker 1: has been called in to assist.

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Speaker 2: Is that something we need to look at here.

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Speaker 3: Again, I suppose we've always got Professor to Taris's Trauma

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Speaker 3: Center potentially as a reserve rather than the eighty F.

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Speaker 3: And I'm not sure if they called him made to

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Speaker 3: lend yet but potentially that that systems could be requested it.

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Speaker 3: You know, they were the ones initially running the Center

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Speaker 3: for National Resilience and the potentially the Department could again

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Speaker 3: work with the National Trauma Center to look at ways

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Speaker 3: they can assist the health system.

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Speaker 1: So as far as you know, at the moment, though

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Speaker 1: they've not called lennataris in the National Critical Care and

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Speaker 1: Trauma Response Center for assistants not.

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Speaker 3: Been aware of that note, should they? I think it's

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Speaker 3: up to the government. I mean, they've decided not to

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Speaker 3: call the code brown and so they've you know, despite

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Speaker 3: the request, and I suppose they've got to wear the

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Speaker 3: consequences if they don't. You know, things don't improve, So

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Speaker 3: you know, they're it's you know, they've got every right

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Speaker 3: not to call the code brown, but the things don't

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Speaker 3: pick up. We could have a situation like we had

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Speaker 3: news of Wales, when people just take to the streets

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Speaker 3: out of frustration.

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Speaker 1: Is it a bit of a kick in the guts,

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Speaker 1: you know, when you've got the AMA and you've got

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Speaker 1: the Nurses Federation really saying please listen to us, We're

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Speaker 1: under a lot of stress.

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Speaker 2: We need this code brown, and then they say no.

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Speaker 3: Again. That's they're right. You know, it is a kick

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Speaker 3: in the guts. You know, we've got it. We've got

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Speaker 3: a right to represent our members and represent that the

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Speaker 3: stress of the government. The government's got a right to

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Speaker 3: say no, that's there, that's their right. You know, all

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Speaker 3: we're doing is putting in a position.

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Speaker 1: Rob. Are you worried that staff are going to end

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Speaker 1: up striking in the territory.

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Speaker 3: I'm not sure about striking again. You know, people are

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Speaker 3: possibly even too exhausted to strike at the moment. Takes

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Speaker 3: some energy, but you know that's always a potential issue

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Speaker 3: that could occur just out of frustration.

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Speaker 2: I know some people listen.

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Speaker 3: I'm not saying that is I'm not aware of any

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Speaker 3: strike action or anythink I want to reassure the public

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Speaker 3: that they do turn up at the hospital and they

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Speaker 3: need hospital care, they will be well caredful, and I'm

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Speaker 3: not aware of any industrial action happening.

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Speaker 1: And honestly, I reckon absolutely everybody listening this morning will

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Speaker 1: have so much you know, they have so much support

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Speaker 1: and care for our doctors, nurses, our allied health staff,

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Speaker 1: those working in indigenous health, absolutely everybody in the health sector.

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Speaker 1: Because I know it's tough going at the moment. Dr

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Speaker 1: Parker obviously have said that, you know, you're not aware

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Speaker 1: of any striking or anything at the moment, but just

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Speaker 1: how big an impact is this having for some of

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Speaker 1: the staff in the hospital right now who have realistically

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Speaker 1: had quite a long period of time of being under stressed.

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Speaker 1: You know, you and I spoke towards the end of

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Speaker 1: last year about there not being enough staff in the hospitals.

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Speaker 1: We spoke to the Nurses Federation about that as well.

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Speaker 1: And now now that we've got these very real cases

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Speaker 1: of COVID in the hospital and also got staff who

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Speaker 1: have been taken out as a result of COVID, you

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Speaker 1: know just how big a stress and impact is this

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Speaker 1: having on those staff members right now?

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Speaker 3: Well, okay, I think that example I talked to you

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Speaker 3: about about the staff member actually would like to catch

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Speaker 3: COVID as a way of giving himself a break from

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Speaker 3: the col phrase is as an example all of the

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Speaker 3: stress people on the fact you actually want to catch

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Speaker 3: COVID to give yourself a ten day break, I think

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Speaker 3: is a very sad example of the pressure people are under.

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Speaker 3: Yeah's one example, you know, and I think you know

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Speaker 3: the AWF their members are just equally frustrated and probably

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Speaker 3: can give you a number of other examples of it's

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Speaker 3: how tired and exhausted their members are, which is why

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Speaker 3: they're calling for the Code bround as well well.

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Speaker 1: Doctor Robert Parker, I appreciate your time this morning, Katie.

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Speaker 3: Can I just suggest one other thing to you? I

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Speaker 3: think with the election coming up, I think it would

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Speaker 3: be really useful to talk to all of them that

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Speaker 3: we've got four local members who are going to decide

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Speaker 3: potentially the fate of Australia the two lineball seats, and

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Speaker 3: I think it'd be really useful to find out their

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Speaker 3: views on health as well as other matters. Absolutely, someone

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Speaker 3: like yourself might be able to host a forum or

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Speaker 3: we can get them all in the room and ask them.

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Speaker 3: May have suggested that to various meter outlets, yes, but

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Speaker 3: it might be worth developing because it'll be really interesting

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Speaker 3: use of the time when potentially we can get some

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Speaker 3: extra resources to the territory, not just for health but

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Speaker 3: for the things. So as a thought, just to stop

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Speaker 3: the ball rolling, and it'll have to be early in

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Speaker 3: the campaign, but yeah, just just to be interesting to

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Speaker 3: see what your listeners thought about. Yeah, having some sort

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Speaker 3: of like Q and a debate with the four House

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Speaker 3: of Reds candidates about what they can do for the territory.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and particularly, you know, particularly with our health system

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Speaker 1: at the moment, and particularly when you talk about the

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Speaker 1: situation you know that we're in. I know, it's something

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Speaker 1: that you have really been advocating for for years in

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Speaker 1: terms of that health funding.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, I think it's a good idea. Dr Parker.

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Speaker 3: Well, I might let you see what you can develop.

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Speaker 2: All right, Okay, sounds good. Thank you, thanks for your time.

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Speaker 2: As always,