Mrs Armitage (Launceston) to the Acting Leader of Government in the Legislative Council, Hon Leonie Hiscutt MLC -

I would be grateful to have the cost to date of the locums, not how much per day, but what we have paid to date for the locums. We have 10 registrar locum positions vacant. Are these positions vacant because the applications were a month late in the north of the state? I believe current registrars who wanted the remain in positions needed some certainty, but were told they could not be given positions until the applications had closed.

This meant that some of the registrars who wished to stay, particularly at the Launceston General Hospital, left the hospital because they needed certainty of employment. I would like to know if those 10 positions - that is a lot - across the north and north-west are vacant and filled with locums. It is a huge cost, and it is a huge cost to our hospitals that they do not have registrars.

Normally - I am sure the member for Murchinson would agree with this - when registrars come and spend time at our hospitals, later on they will often return with their families. Most of the senior clinicians at our current hospital worked there as registrars in the past. I would like the answer to what the cost of those locums are to date.

Hon Leonie Hiscutt MLC -

I am advised that the total cost of the aforementioned registrar locums to date is $253,936.67

In relation to the recruitment timeframes, I am also advised that the THS ran a statewide registrar process so the applications had the same closing date across the state. It is practice that where permissible with the employment legislation that registrars who wish to remain for a further year are given a new contract; this year was no different. I am advised that the LGH is unaware of any registrars who left the hospital at the end of their contract due to uncertainty of employment for the 2017 year.