Bathurst Base Hospital to lose medical registrars after concerns raised

The Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) released a statement at 7.30pm Friday night advising that the RACP has withdrawn accreditation for medical registrar training at Bathurst Base Hospital.

The RACP is the body responsible for accrediting hospitals for the training of specialists in a range of disciplines, including medicine.

Registrars are doctors with at least three years of experience in a public hospital who are under taking training in an area of speciality.

The health district said it was advised of the RACP's decision on Friday.

"Bathurst Base Hospital currently has four medical registrars who will be withdrawn from the medical roster," a WNSWLHD spokesperson said.

"The RACP has cited concerns at Bathurst Hospital in relation to the supervision and the workload of the registrars."

The spokesperson said services, for now, are not being affected as a result of the decision and efforts are being taken to find replacement staff.

"Services at Bathurst Hospital are not currently affected, with sufficient medical staff rostered into the coming week," they said.

"Every effort is being applied to secure locum or contracted medical officers to ensure there is minimal disruption to services."

The four registrars leaving Bathurst Hospital will continue their training at appropriate alternative facilities.

Accreditation for registrars in other disciplines at Bathurst is not affected.

The WNSWLHD spokesperson said it is working with the RACP to address the concerns it raised, in the hopes of having accreditation reinstated.

"WNSWLHD and the Bathurst Health Service have been working to address these concerns and has ensured the RACP is aware of those efforts," they said.

"WNSWLHD will continue to work with the RACP on the prospect of re-accreditation as an urgent consideration."

The RACP's decision comes days after the release of the Australian Medical Association's (AMA) report cards and 'traffic light' ratings for public hospitals across Australia.

READ MORE: Bathurst Base Hospital falls short of emergency department benchmarks

Bathurst Base Hospital's emergency department was rated one of the worst in the Central West.

It scored red light ratings for emergency, urgent and semi-urgent treatment times, and a yellow light for non-urgent treatment.

The only green light rating the emergency department received was for resuscitation.

The hospital also scored a red light rating for delivering non-urgent elective surgery in the required timeframe.

The AMA cited shortfalls in funding as the major reason behind the problems.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: