Doctors and nurses demand urgent 'Code Yellow' declaration at Royal Darwin Hospital amid ongoing crisis
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) NT and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) NT have issued a joint media statement warning that Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) remains in a dangerous "state of disaster," placing Territorians at immediate risk of harm.
Despite urgent calls for a Code Yellow declaration earlier this week, NT Health has failed to act, leaving frontline staff to face intolerable working conditions and severe burnout from excessive overtime.
The unions representing the Territory's doctors and nurses are calling on NT Health to immediately declare a Code Yellow and maintain it until normal, safe operating conditions are sustainably restored.
Frontline healthcare professionals remain dedicated to treating and caring for patients to the best of their ability, but they warn that the current systemic failures are creating an entirely unsafe environment for both staff and patients.
"Every Territorian should be angry at the state of our health service," said Dr Thomas Fowles, President of ASMOF NT and Vice President of AMA NT.
"Katherine floods, Alice can’t get enough nurses or doctors, and Darwin is literally falling down when there's a stiff breeze. I’m sure the politicians will talk about record spending – this is how inflation works! Record spending means nothing when the spending is still inadequate."
“Nurses are sounding really defeated. They no longer expect things to improve in any meaningful way” said Heidi Crisp, Secretary of ANMF NT.
One nurse expressed the sentiment: “People are too poor and too sick in this town, we shall never get out of Code Yellow.”
The joint statement highlights a broader collapse across the Northern Territory's healthcare network, pointing to infrastructure vulnerability in Darwin and critical staffing shortages in Alice Springs. Frontline medical workers emphasise that immediate structural intervention and honest funding assessments are required to protect the health and safety of the Northern Territory public.
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About ASMOF NT and ANMF NT:
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) NT represents the professional and industrial interests of salaried doctors across the Northern Territory. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) NT is the peak industrial and professional body representing nurses, midwives, and assistants in nursing across the Territory, dedicated to protecting frontline workers and patient safety.
Contact: amant@amant.com.au secretary@anmfnt.org.au
