This page has been printed from the Yarrow Place website http://www.yarrowplace.sa.gov.au

Employment at Yarrow Place

Yarrow Place is currently looking for doctors to be part of the after hours crisis response service. The following information is provided for doctors considering this work.

After Hours Call Outs

Yarrow Place provides a dual response to a person who has been recently raped. The Crisis Response Worker takes the initial call and will liaise with the doctor to set up a crisis response at the Women's and Children's Hospital. The aim is to provide a service within 2 hours of the doctor being contacted. Clients are seen in the Day Surgery Unit at WCH. Parking is available at the WCH for doctors.

Very occasionally clients are seen at another hospital if the client has been admitted there or if their injuries are such that it is considered inadvisable to move them.

The Crisis Response Worker is responsible for organising the response, providing information about legal, medical and counselling options to the client and supporting the client through the examination. The Crisis Response Worker will also address practical needs such as accommodation, transport and childcare.

The doctor is responsible for providing medical care and the forensic examination. Medical care includes assessment and care of injuries not requiring casualty attendance, risk assessment, pregnancy, STI prophylaxis and assessment of psychological risk and safety. The forensic examination entails the careful examination and documentation of all injuries and the taking of relevant forensic specimens for analysis. Generally the whole intervention takes between 2 and 3 hours. This includes the drying and packaging of forensic specimens and writing up the medical examination.

Court availability

A doctor is only likely to go to court in between 5-10% of cases. Doctors are encouraged to attend expert witness training (part of the forensic training course) to prepare for this and they can be supported by an experienced doctor the first few times they are called to give evidence.

Rosters and time commitment

Rosters are flexible and are created on a monthly basis. Doctors can choose to nominate a set day each month or they can choose shifts to fit in around their other commitments. Week night shifts run from 5.00pm to 8.30am the next morning. Weekends and public holidays are divided into 12 hour shifts between 8.30am to 8.30pm and then 8.30pm to 8.30am the next morning. Overall, doctors can expect to be called out one in every 3 rosters, however the weekends are when more call outs are likely to happen. Three (3) shifts a month is optimum to maintain competence in the forensic examination, however doctors can choose to do fewer than this.

Pay and Conditions

The pay and conditions are dependent on qualifications, experience and work outside Yarrow Place.

Further information

Workingon the after hours panel is rewarding, varied, interesting and surprisingly straightforward. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact the Medical Coordinator, at Yarrow Place on 08 8226-8777.