Morale at Western Australia's public hospitals has plummeted and almost half of all doctors have considered resigning in the past year, a survey shows.
More than 860 senior doctors responded to the Australian Medical Association WA survey, revealing a fractured relationship with management and a health system under pressure.
AMA WA president Omar Khorshid said the survey reflected angst and anger from senior doctors, with many labelling the system broken and in crisis.
"Trust has been lost between medical staff and management," he said on Tuesday.
The survey revealed 47.9 per cent of doctors had considered resigning or relocating from their hospital.
Dr Khorshid dismissed comments by Premier Mark McGowan that the survey was based on old data and a shift to the new Perth Children's Hospital would improve results.
"It's disappointing the premier thinks a survey done a month ago is outdated," Dr Khorshid said.
"The problems present at hospitals have been there for years and they've been building over the last year in particular."
He said moving to the new hospital would not change the culture at the root of the problem.
Health Minister Roger Cook said morale did not "disintegrate overnight" and blamed the former Liberal government.
"I think it's fair to say our health system is one which has undergone significant change over a number of years," he told 6PR radio.
That forced pressure on clinicians already working in a constrained budget environment, he said.
But the minister and Dr Khorshid agreed more money was not the answer.
Overall, 43.4 per cent of clinicians said the culture at their hospital had deteriorated.
At Perth's flagship Fiona Stanley Hospital, 60 per cent of survey respondents described the culture as very poor while just two per cent of those at Princess Margaret Children's Hospital reported morale was good.
PMH remains the bottom choice of workplace for doctors with less than 25 per cent of respondents saying they would recommend the hospital to others.
Mr Cook said he expected survey results to improve as changes were implemented.
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