On Monday, the hospital’s Medical Staff Council took the unprecedented step of declaring no confidence in the hospital’s management.

The Greater Western Area Health Service’s (GWAHS) unpaid bills, which Dubbo MP Dawn Fardell said now neared $66 million worth of debt, has seen some suppliers refuse to stock the hospital with essential medical supplies.

Doctors say the debt is now affecting patient safety, and one has even bought her own supplies so blood tests can continue. A nurse has been forced to buy bandages from a Dubbo vet.

Mr Coulton had stayed out of the GWAHS debate, calling it a State Government issue.

“But it’s now at a point where I believe the State Government cannot control the crisis,” he said yesterday.

Yesterday, the chair of the medical staff council, Dr Dean Fisher told the Daily Liberal the unpaid bills were affecting patient safety.

Dr Fisher said the council felt it had no choice but to pass a motion of no confidence in the base hospital’s management.

He said the hospital’s visiting medical officers - specialists that work in Dubbo and attend the hospital when needed - are reluctant to reapply for their positions for next year. They must reapply by October 20.

“If you lose one or two more doctors, Dubbo becomes a emergency department only,” Dr Fisher said. “Patients will be transported to other areas.”

The VMOs, and the medical staff council, say the large number of unpaid bills is now affecting patient care and safety.

There is not a clear enough job description for VMOs, and an “apparent lack of urgency” of GWAHS CRO Dr Claire Blizard to speak to the medical staff council.

However, half an hour before Dr Fisher spokes to media yesterday, Dr Blizard rang him on his mobile to arrange a meeting - despite pulling out of the meeting on Monday night some weeks before.

Dr Fisher said a new base hospital management team would “go a long way to helping” the current crisis.

“Every crisis sees another level of administration put in,” he said. “We’re under-funded federally as well as state. Health requires a radical change - the system is broken.

“Without a significant injection of funds or a complete federal takeover, we will be having the same argument again in six to twelve months as we’ve had over last 5 years.”

The no confidence motion has been discussed “frequently over the past few years”, Dr Fisher said.

“It’s a fairly large statement, and we don’t take it lightly - it’s not been done before, and the Australian Medical Association is aware of my actions today.

“Their feeling is it will open the floodgates for other medical staff councils to do the same.”

However, Dr Fisher denied that any patients had suffered.

“The negative publicity has suggested patients are not getting the best care in Dubbo - I can categorically deny that,” he said. “No patients have suffered - yet.”

Dr Blizard declined to speak to the Daily Liberal, and issued a statement which said she would bring forward to next Monday night, a meeting with Dubbo Medical Staff Council that had been scheduled for next month.

“If there are doctors with concerns about late payments I urge them to make contact,” she said.

Speaking to media yesterday, a pale Dr Fisher said he now feared for his job, and added it had taken him 48 hours to summon the courage to speak out yesterday, despite having the support of his colleges and Mrs Fardell.

“I feel physically ill doing this,” he said. “I feel like I’m getting an ulcer, like I’m going to be threatened now from the administration.

“I don’t think the administration can afford not to have the people they’ve got here - but I fear for my job, and I have to have a letter of support from the general manager by Monday allowing me to reapply for my job - and I haven’t got that yet.”

But Dr Blizard said he was safe.

“I reject media reports that clinical staff might be penalised for speaking out,” she said. “I give an assurance this will not happen.”

lynton.grace@ruralpress.com