As Hunter doctors walk off the job over unsafe conditions, it’s time to listen—not just to them but to the patients left behind in a broken health system where postcodes dictate care received.
When doctors strike, something is very wrong.
Last week, more than 1,000 Hunter-based health professionals took the extraordinary step of walking off the job. Their message was clear: the public health system is in crisis—for staff, patients, and everyone. They’ve sounded the alarm. The question is whether the government is ready to hear it.
We have spent decades advocating for people who are failed by our health system. We hear from patients and families around the state every week whose lives have been irreversibly changed by preventable errors: misdiagnoses, delayed surgeries, failures in maternity care, untreated mental illness and yes—avoidable deaths. The doctors’ strike echoes what we see daily—chronic under-resourcing, workforce burnout, and a system buckling under the weight of neglect.
An 18-year-old died by suicide at a mental health unit within a Hunter public hospital after repeatedly expressing her intentions, attempting to take her life in the same way just days earlier, and warning staff of her plans. A coronial inquest found she was not observed every 15 minutes as required. Sadly, there are many such cases involving unacceptable clinical standards of practice each year—it’s part of a pattern.
These failures aren’t just devastating—they’re also expensive. Public hospitals and the state government spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on medical negligence claims, most of which stem from preventable harm. As lawyers, we know litigation is often the only path to accountability. But it’s a poor substitute for a functioning, safe health system. We’d rather see reform than lawsuits.
A root cause of these failings is the government’s refusal to adequately staff and support the system. Hospitals like the John Hunter are drowning in demand, yet workforce shortages continue. Cultural safety, particularly for Aboriginal patients, is sorely lacking. Burnt-out staff cannot deliver safe, consistent care. Locum doctors come and go, leaving gaps in treatment and trust.
Safe staffing saves lives. When hospitals are sufficiently resourced, patients receive faster, safer, and more effective care. Fewer errors occur. Recovery times improve. It’s not just about fairness for health workers—it’s about safety for all of us who rely on the system. Chronic under-staffing isn’t just a workforce issue; it’s a public health threat.
This crisis echoes the findings of the 2008 Garling Report, which exposed widespread failings in NSW public hospitals, including inadequate care for deteriorating patients, poor supervision of junior doctors, and weak governance. Nearly two decades on, many of the same warnings are ringing out again—this time from the frontline doctors themselves. It’s clear the system has slipped back into unsafe territory, and bold, accountable action is once again urgently required.
We also need honesty. Public data on avoidable deaths and adverse incidents is opaque, patchy, or completely unavailable. In the UK and US, hospital outcomes are searchable by postcode. In NSW, patients and their families are left in the dark—until it’s too late.
There are solutions. The Rural Health Inquiry offered 44 recommendations – the key issue of workforce reform and resourcing has been kicked down the road. We know what’s needed: real investment in regional health services, culturally safe care, support for community-controlled health organisations, and workforce strategies that value and retain skilled clinicians beyond our major metropolitan centres.
This strike should be a wake-up call. It should not take placards and protests for leaders to act. But now that the doctors have spoken, it’s time for the rest of us to amplify their message.
The health of Hunter communities—and indeed, all of NSW—depends on more than words. It depends on funding, reform, and political will.
Let this strike be the line in the sand.
Hunter residents can support change by contacting local MPs, attending health advocacy forums, sharing their stories, supporting frontline workers, and demanding transparency in health outcomes. Our collective voice can drive reform because a better health system starts with a community that refuses to stay silent.
Catherine Henry is the principal of Catherine Henry Lawyers and spokesperson for the Australian Lawyers Alliance on regional health issues.
This opinion piece appeared in the Newcastle Herald on 17 April 2025.
