Placing mobile billboards on picket lines and tracking down disgruntled NHS staff directly on social media – these are just two brutal tactics Australia has deployed to bolster its own healthcare workforce by luring Britons Down Under.
Some have criticized the ‘unconscionable raid’ as ethically questionable, given the pressure the NHS is facing and the impact on patient staffing.
Speaking on Australian National Radio last week, South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton said: “Not only are we responding to tweets, but we also have a number of trucks with electronic billboards installed overnight outside their protests and their picket lines outside hospitals.
?A few weeks ago, some of our junior doctors who work at SA Health came to see me.
‘[They] really enjoy working here and want to see more people from the UK make the journey here and suggested we step up our game in terms of these more brutal tactics.’
The South Australian Government ad campaign visiting British Medical Association picket lines at St George’s Hospital in London last week
He has also defended the tactic, saying: ‘If the British government wants to, you know, emulate what we’re doing, they can do it.
“But at the moment it seems that the British government is completely aloof with their own medical staff and is refusing to even meet them.”
MOBILE BILLBOARDS
Mobile billboards with tantalizing images of crystal clear waters and scenic walks were posted outside St George’s Hospital in London earlier this month during a strike by junior doctors.
‘Bring your health career to South Australia and experience work-life balance at its best. We can help with moving costs,” the ad read.
The adverts were seen by dozens of British Medical Association (BMA) medics, who were on the picket line at the latest strike over the NHS payment.
It featured 50/50 images of medics enjoying the Australian lifestyle and working in a hospital with the captions ‘For Work’. For lifestyle’.
A link and QR code on the billboard directs interested medics to a South Australian Government recruitment page where they can enter their details to apply.
The adverts featured 50/50 images of medics balancing work with stunning photos of the Australian lifestyle that read ‘discover work-life balance at its best’ and offering financial assistance to relocate
TRAWLING TWITTER
The South Australian government – which offers one-off cash payments of up to ?8,000 to help medics relocate – is also searching Twitter for anyone complaining about their NHS job or the cost of living in the UK.
Then they respond with a glossy video ad featuring starry skies, surfing and wine tasting interspersed with images of medics working in a hospital.
A tweet from Cam Ypr, a psychiatry trainee in Yorkshire, read: ‘Junior doctor strikes round 3. Strong public support in Sheffield and the sun is shining.’
SA Health, the NHS equivalent of South Australia, replied: ‘Consider taking your medical career to South Australia and discover the best work-life balance. We can help with moving costs of up to AUD$15,000 (?8,000) to make the move a reality.?
This response was accompanied by their recruitment video and a link to apply, as well as urging medics to contact SA Health’s ‘talent acquisition’ team.
Harpreet Kaur, a surgeon in South Yorkshire, was also targeted by SA Health after posting: ‘Passionate about surgery but every #JuniorDoctorsStrike reminds me how badly we need change and #PayRestoration’.
Ms. Kaur even responded to the SA Health ad with, ?Thank you. Will take this into account.’
In fact, some of the tweets targeted by the Aussies were quite old.
MailOnline found that SA Health posted their recruitment video on some posts from June 2022 in an attempt to convince medics to go to Adelaide.
South Australia is also running a targeted social media campaign, looking for UK medics complaining about paying online and posting this glossy ad featuring images of both surfing and working, alongside an offer of up to ?8,000 to help with moving costs
A tweet from Cam Ypr, a psychiatry trainee in Yorkshire, was picked up by the SA Health social media trawl
Even tweets medics wrote in June last year caught the Aussies’ crosshairs, like this example of a medic with the username ‘Noodles’
A medic last year tweeted under the name ‘Noodles’: “If you’re wondering why doctors are considering strike action: I worked full-time for two years.
‘My salary this month is ?1700. I have a job where I’m responsible for your life. You don’t want me to worry about how I’m going to pay for my gas if you’re septic at four in the morning.?
To which SA Health replied urging them to apply to join them.
Shockingly, both ad campaigns were not entirely an Australian scheme, but had been requested by British medics who had already made the move to Down Under.
n