January 29, 2022

Workplace News

ED staff demand Premier fix Westmead Hospital issues

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An open letter has been sent to the NSW Premier and the Health Minister calling for urgent action to address what clinicians have described as ‘chronic understaffing’ and ‘access block’ inside Westmead Hospital’s emergency department (ED).

Signed by over 200 emergency department nurses, registrars, senior medical officers, administration, orderlies and security guards, the open letter highlights a range of issues which have resulted in unsafe conditions for patients and staff.

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) said widespread concerns were raised with Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) over two years ago, yet little had been done to fix them.

Yesterday afternoon, medical, nursing and allied health staff met with WSLHD Chief Executive Graeme Loy, who has now referred the concerns raised by staff to a working group at the local level.

NSWNMA Westmead Hospital Branch Secretary, Timothy Blofield, agreed ongoing issues inside the ED had been compounded by a junior-heavy workforce and responding to the pandemic.

“Our ED nurses have been battling these issues on a daily basis and it has been relentless for everyone in the department,” said Mr Blofield.

“These working conditions have taken a massive toll on the wellbeing, mental health and morale of all the ED staff, with increased amounts of sick leave, overtime and sadly, even resignations.

“A surge in COVID-19 presentations thanks to the recent Delta outbreak has been an extra burden, with increased risks and safety concerns piling on to an already overwhelmed department.”

NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said it was unacceptable the ED of Western Sydney’s largest tertiary referral hospital was consistently one of the poorest performers.

“While our members will try to work with local management on this, they are concerned the working groups will not deliver the changes that are needed within a suitable time frame. The Health Minister needs to step in and provide assurances that the Local Health District will get the additional funding needed to match the growing demand being placed on this facility,” said Mr Holmes.

“Expert advice is also required to develop effective strategies that will address the access block and relieve congestion that builds regularly in the ED. They need some longer-term strategies implemented, rather than band-aid solutions.

“Management taking the time to meet with staff yesterday afternoon to discuss solutions is a step in the right direction, but it will mean little if there are no actions taken soon as it is imperative that changes are put in place to fix the dire situation at Westmead Hospital.”

The open letter also outlines several ED staffing improvements to boost safe patient care, including:

  • a minimum of 1 nurse to a maximum of 3 patients; and 1:1 nursing care in resuscitation bays
  • increased ED medical staffing across all shifts (morning, afternoon and evening)
  • additional Mental Health Clinical Nurse Consultant and Psychiatry Registrar 24/7
  • 1.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) Clinical Nurse Educators per 30 nursing staff
  • 1.0 FTE Nurse Educator; and 1.0 FTE permanent Equipment Officer
  • a minimum of 90% registered nurses to be skilled in emergency nursing

The NSWNMA said it was continuing to support members who had described the situation as ‘at breaking point’ and urged the NSW government to prioritise the health and wellbeing of all staff trying to provide safe care to their ED patients.

MPs receive over 40,000 emails against changes to workers compensation 

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Members of parliament have received over 40,000 emails from nurses, midwives and their supporters, calling on them to oppose proposed changes to the workers compensation scheme. 

The show of force from healthcare workers stems from an attempt by the Perrotet government to remove s 19B of the Workers Compensation Act. This would force frontline workers to prove that they contracted COVID-19 at work before they are eligible for workers compensation – which would ultimately make it harder for workers to access the scheme. 

The emails call on parliamentarians from both houses of parliament to “think of the nurses and midwives at [their local] hospital” when considering how to vote. 

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association General Secretary, Brett Holmes, called the attempts to repeal s 19B as “a disgrace”. 

“We call on the Premier to withdraw his intention and to continue to care for the workers who have cared for NSW”, he said. 

While intention of the repeal has been flagged by the Perrotet government, debate on the matter has yet to commence.  

Nurses, midwives and their supporters are urged to continue to lobby their local parliamentary representatives. You can access the “Email your MP” tool here. 

Government attacks workers battling COVID-19, in favour of small business

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The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) says its members are outraged by the NSW government’s intention to clawback amendments to the Workers Compensation Act 1987 regarding COVID-19 claims.

NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said upper house members of parliament received more than 24,800 emails from public sector nurses and midwives over the weekend, begging them to block the government’s planned repeal. A further 590 emails were sent to lower house MPs.

“Despite their efforts to go above and beyond for the past 22 months, essential workers who are infected with COVID-19 will face significant hurdles if this repeal goes ahead,” said Mr Holmes.

“Healthcare workers are at heightened risk of exposure from patients, visitors and other colleagues in their workplaces.

“Yes they can make a workers’ compensation claim, but if they are forced through a disputed claims process it could be months before they get an outcome, or a long time without any income if they’re a casual worker.

“This clawback would have a huge impact on the casual health workforce. The minimum recovery time is 14 days, yet the average full-time permanent worker gets 10 sick leave days per year, part- time/temporary workers even less, and casuals get zero sick leave.

“Our health and aged care sectors have relied heavily on these workers during the pandemic and now they’re being left to fend for themselves against their employers and their insurer, iCare.

“If the government’s repeal succeeds, workers would be forced to engage lawyers to fight their case and produce costly scientific evidence to prove a connection between their infection and exposure at work, something increasingly difficult when vaccinated people can carry the disease without symptoms and may not get tested.

“Not only have nurses, midwives and other frontline healthcare workers shown up to work, day after night, exposed to risk – they’ll continue to be exposed to unvaccinated and potentially infectious patients as they go about their work. Yet this government wants to place the financial burden of contracting COVID-19 back on these workers, not to mention increase the unnecessary cost of contested claims.

“The pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on nurses, midwives and other healthcare and frontline workers, and this is how the NSW government values them.

“Not only is this repeal out of touch, it’s insulting and cruel, particularly when it’s the workers right across NSW that this government is relying upon to rebuild our economy.”

The government wants to repeal Section 19B of the Act, to save small businesses insurance premiums by $950. However, the claim that this is a make or break decision for employers to hire someone or pay higher wages is farcical.

Health care sector leads in WHS injury stats 

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The health care and social assistance sector has again laid claim to the shameful statistic of leading the country in terms of injuries sustained at work. 

A Safe Work Australia report has found that 21 603 health care and social assistance workers sustained a serious injury at work in the 2021 reporting period, accounting for a 10% increase from the previous reporting period. Serious injuries are considered to be those which require a worker to be absent for a week or longer on workers compensation.  

These injuries in the health care and social assistance sector account for 18% of all injuries sustained by workers in the workplace. 

Comparatively, other industries usually considered more “dangerous” such as construction and manufacturing account for just 13% and 12% respectively. 

According to the research, this means that 12.3 health care workers were injured for every 1 000 workers in the industry. 

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association General Secretary, Brett Holmes, indicated that improvements must be made in the sector to keep nurses and midwives safe. 

“Nurses and midwives are highly regarded community members. They deserve better,” he said. 

“No-one should feel unsafe in the workplace”. 

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association is leading the charge on ensuring health care workplaces are safer for staff. To find out more about our Safer Work, Safer Care campaign, visit our website. 

NSWNMA members strike for patient safety

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Pressure from nurses, midwives and other public sector workers has forced the Berejiklian government to back down from its pathetic 1.04 per cent pay offer. But the campaign for shift-by-shift ratios continues.

Leading up to the most recent COVID-19 lockdown, NSWNMA members walked off the job, closed beds or held rallies at over 30 public health sites across NSW.

As part of our campaign for shift-by-shift ratios and better pay and conditions, this industrial action bore its first fruit when the Berejiklian government backed down from its insulting pay offer in the state budget.

The government had responded to our pay and conditions claim with a 1.04 per cent pay offer. The government then backtracked and restored its previous wages cap of 2.5 per cent for public sector workers, including nurses and midwives working in the public health system.

This is still well below the 4.7 per cent increase claimed by the NSWNMA, which would make up the lost ground after nurses and midwives only received 0.3 per cent last year.

Even this paltry amount was only achieved when the association pursued a 2.5 percent increase in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission after the government had completely frozen public sector wages.

NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes said the revised pay offer was not nearly enough to satisfy the health workforce, and shift-by-shift ratios remained the overwhelming priority of our members.

“The wave of industrial action shows the frustration felt by nurses and midwives at the refusal by the NSW government to improve staffing by implementing shift-by-shift ratios,” he said.

“Even before the latest COVID outbreak, our public health system was bursting at the seams and the pressure was increasing on the health workforce year by year.

“The number one priority of our members is, and always has been, to maintain safe patient care and deliver the best possible health outcomes. What more do they have to do for their voices to be heard by this government?

“We will continue to campaign for shift-by-shift ratios until the state government listens and acts,” he said.

Workplace organisation is vital, says new Assistant Secretary

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Shaye Candish takes over from Judith Kiejda as NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary in August. Shaye believes nurses and midwives have great untapped potential to influence their workplaces through collective action.

Nursing wasn’t Shaye Candish’s career goal when she began studying for a nursing degree at the University of Western Sydney.

She wanted to be a speech pathologist but the course wasn’t offered within commuter distance of her home in Liverpool, where she grew up in a single-parent family.

“I decided to go into nursing thinking it might give me an opportunity to transfer into speech pathology later. But once I started the course I really loved it,” Shaye says.

She joined the NSW Nurses’ Association on graduating in 2008. “I didn’t have any real awareness of unionism. My mum worked really hard but wasn’t politically minded; joining the union was just a thing most new grads did when they got their registration.”

Shaye’s first placement was in the emergency department of Campbelltown Hospital. “I loved the variety of the work and the talented team who were keen to share their knowledge. It was a wonderful development opportunity for a young nurse,” she says.

“My values aligned with those of the union, but I had almost no interaction with the union for the first few years of my career. There were delegates on my unit but we didn’t have a visible branch.

“That experience has made me think a lot about the way we interact with members. How many potential members are out there now who don’t know much about what we do?

“It’s critical that we continue to build good union leadership in the workplace.”

Her first contact with the union came a decade ago. Amid a “current of discontent” over inadequate staffing, management tried to resolve staffing issues by moving to abolish 12-hour shifts.

Shaye called the union office and got information which allowed her and her colleagues to craft a collective response incorporating the latest research on 12-hour shifts and management’s legal and industrial obligations. Management dropped the proposal.

Shaye later contacted the union for advice on how to achieve another goal: getting an additional nurse in the resuscitation area, where a lone nurse was responsible for four beds.

The ED nurses collected data, benchmarked against similar-size departments, and showed that the staffing was unsafe, below standards of similar hospitals and against departmental policy.

“Management’s response was blasé, but when we put up posters advertising a planned protest
rally, management folded and agreed to appoint a new position on night shift.”

A different challenge every day

With a growing appreciation of the work of the union, Shaye successfully applied for a job as Association organiser eight years ago.

Since then, she’s represented aged care workers in western NSW, public sector nurses in the Murrumbidgee and southern NSW regions and southeast Sydney.

Before becoming Assistant General Secretary, she was a lead organiser, the coordinator of the Public Health Sector 2018 ratios campaign and one of two co-managers overseeing the work of the aged care and private hospitals organising team.

As ratios campaign coordinator in the year leading to the 2019 state election, Shaye directed and coordinated the work of organisers, delegates and members to develop a united approach across NSW.

Members collected thousands of signed pledges to support ratios and the union educated members on the importance of how politics impacts public health. Due to this work, the Association achieved a comprehensive policy on shift-by-shift ratios from the Labor party.

Nurses and midwives held rallies across the state, addressed public meetings, lobbied politicians, called other members and spoke to the community and media.

“The campaign achieved a strong swing in marginal seats towards parties that supported ratios and raised the political awareness of many hundreds of members who got involved,” she said.

“We went into the campaign with a real intention to develop local union leaders, give them good structures in their workplaces and a lasting capacity to be involved in future public sector campaigns.”

“Many of those new-found activists are still involved today and have taken the skills they learnt into their workplaces.”

“At NSWNMA, the variety of work has been fabulous – a different challenge every day that keeps
you connected to the profession,” Shaye says.

“It’s been exciting to work with so many incredibly skilled nurses and midwives who are at the peak of their speciality.”

Nurse/midwife union activists have always found it difficult to arrange face to face meetings for a 24/7 workforce.

Shifting power in the workplace

Shaye says the pandemic led the NSWNMA to new ways of working, such as videoconferencing, that have given members new ways to be involved in their union – including online voting.

“COVID-19 has also seen the NSWNMA successfully advocate to protect nurses and midwives with appropriate PPE.”

“We were calling for adequate masks and fit testing before Delta was heard of.”

“In general, I want our members to win and part of that means we have to start to shift the power relationship in the workplace.”

“We need members to realise they have the ability to influence their workplace by collective action.”

“We know they have tremendous community support but we have to get better at actually exercising their power.”

“When we use that power we can have a significant impact on the care we provide to our patients and we can also improve our own working conditions.”

Shaye, who lives in Wollongong, says she’s grateful to have had a supportive workplace environment while raising her sons aged six and two.

“When we support women and fully accept that kids are part of their life, we give them the opportunity to thrive – and the loyalty an organisation gets from them is incredible. I would love to see that attitude in all our members’ workplaces.”