More than 50 senior doctors working as medical advisors at ACC plan to strike next week, in part over the agency's refusal to offer personal grievance rights or protections for speaking up.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) executive director Sarah Dalton said ACC's refusal to include any specific rights to speak publicly on issues of patient safety was contrary to the recommendations of the agency's own culture review.
"It's really just being able to say 'Hey we think there's an issue here that is of relevance to a patient's access to care or patient safety or there's a wider debate that needs to be had, let's talk about it. Our members are telling us morale is pretty low, people are pretty disillusioned," she said.
Dalton said there was an ongoing culture at ACC that was not respectful of doctor's skills and expertise.
"We do think it has a gagging effect and unfortunately we find even at workplaces where we do have speaking up clauses, there is a bit of a climate at the moment that tries to stop clinicians from speaking out," she said.
ACC declined to respond directly to the union's claim that it was refusing to guarantee any specific rights for doctors to speak publicly on issues of patient safety.
However, deputy chief executive service delivery Michael Frampton said ASMS members were first and foremost its staff members.
"It's their right to take action and we support their right to do so. ACC will ensure the strike action results in minimal disruption to our clients. ACC will continue to act as a good employer during this industrial action and we'll continue to negotiate with the ASMS in good faith."
