Doc union threatens mass warning DOCTORS' unions are threatening to warn interstate and New Zealand colleagues about coming to work in Queensland public hospitals amid concerns about a push to put specialists on contracts. Organisations representing thousands of senior medical officers, including the Australian Medical Association, have written to Health Minister Lawrence Springborg concerned the shift to individual contracts will have ``far reaching and adverse impacts" on the Queensland public hospital system. The doctors are particularly fearful the proposed contracts have no fatigue provisions and also lack mandatory meal and rest breaks. "We are ... concerned that Queensland is part of a national and international medical workforce market and significant adverse changes to the terms and conditions of employment ... will make both recruitment and retention more difficult," the letter to Mr Springborg said. He has been advised a recent meeting of Australian and New Zealand doctors' association representatives recommended that their organisations consider issuing a ``warning in regard to employment in Queensland under the proposed individual contracts. Together union secretary Alex Scott said he feared the contracts would lead to ``horrific work conditions which would place patients' lives at risk. "What this is about is bringing back the spectre of unlimited hours for doctors which hospitals have historically completely mismanaged and kept doctors on far beyond their physical capacity to provide quality services," Mr Scott said. We'll go back to a situation where doctors will be working longer and longer hours without a break. The government's wanting to give open slather back to the hospitals, saying they can work the doctors as long as they like. But a spokesman for Mr Springborg said the contracts must abide by the published policies of Queensland Health and the Hospital and Health Services, including those relating to fatigue management. "The contracts ensure doctors get paid for the work they perform and include an annualised payment for on-call and overtime," he said. ``This is a common arrangement in the private sector. In switching to contracts, the government seeks to apply best practice employment standards common in health systems across the world. Mr Springborg's spokesman said the government wanted to do away with the ``inflexibility" of the award system. "Many doctors affected by these proposed changes are now working 40 hours for Queensland Health over four days - and a fifth day on QH overtime or in private facilities every week," he said. The spokesman said consultation with senior doctor representatives about the contracts had been underway since early last month.