Junior doctors in WA’s hospitals say they are being denied time off because a recruitment crisis means management cannot find anyone to cover for them.

From Thursday, quarantine-free travel rules will allow locums from Victoria and NSW to finally return to the state after a gap of more than six months.

But “acute stresses” remain, says AMA WA.

“I hear stories of [doctors] having to arrange multiple shift swaps to get a day off to attend a course they have booked months in advance … or even just a short break with family or loved ones,” says Dr Jemma Hogan, co-chair of AMA WA’s doctors in training committee.