Three long-serving members of NSWNMA Council, Lorna Scott, Richard Noort and Lyn Hopper – after delivering sterling contributions to the governance of our union – have decided to pass the baton to a new generation of leaders.

This month in The Lamp we introduce their successors.

Lannelle Bailey, AIN, Mercy Place Albury

Lannelle Bailey’s introduction to AIN work was a dramatic one when she began work at the beginning of COVID at Mercy Place Albury, a 116-bed aged care facility.

The newly elected NSWNMA Councillor joined the union towards the end of 2020, but three years ago, the branch president and branch secretary left the workplace.

Lannelle, then an assistant branch secretary, explains that members held an emergency meeting and worked with their NSWNMA organiser to save the branch from closing.

“I stepped up into the secretary role and another member stepped into the president role.”

Since that time, Lannelle has attended a number of training programs in Sydney.

“I had a ball every time, and became connected with so many people,” says Lanelle, who has been hard at work preparing to negotiate a new EA since the current one expired at the end of June 2022.

She’s also been involved in a Fair Work case over unpaid allowances. “So far, we’ve recouped $40,000 in unpaid meal allowances for 18 members across three sites.”

On the ground, she enjoys working with organisers and industrial officers to help branch members. “Sometimes it is just a case of helping them word an email and advising them who to approach to get some resolution to their issues.”

“As a councillor, I am most excited about learning what is going on across the sectors because we are all interlinked: You use the health system when your babies are born, when your kids have accidents; then there are health conditions that start to show up in midlife; and then you go into aged care.

“We cover the whole lifespan, and it is going to be good to look at the health system holistically to see where the gaps are. That is how we’re taught to look at patients. And when you are working with a group of people
with different perspectives and viewpoints, it just helps pinpoint the way to move forward.”

Lanelle has a strong understanding of governance as an active member of her community; she is the President of the Lions Club, represents her community on local Council committees and is responsible for the running of local community groups, which she has founded. Lanelle brings an interesting perspective to Council as she works as an aged care AIN in NSW and in Victoria.”

Colette Duff, RN, Sutherland Hospital

Colette Duff, an RN at  Sutherland Hospital emergency department, has worked at North Shore, Westmead, Ryde and Liverpool Hospitals during her three-decade career.

She has worked for the Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) providing clinical leadership in quality and safety. Colette has also worked as an CNE and NUM.

She says she saw how critical care was busier after returning to clinical practice in 2017.

“I saw how critical care was busier. There was more work to do, people were unhappy with rostering and the conditions,” says Colette, who holds a Masters in critical care nursing.

“Morale was worse than I’d seen, but it is much worse now. After making it through a really big pandemic, we have more responsibilities, more problems with retention and recruitment, and we’ve had a really prolonged fight for ratios.”

“Working for years under a Liberal government that refused to listen to the people who know their work best really frustrated me, and that’s probably why I became more politically active and became more involved in the union.”

Colette is really encouraged to see the growth in union activity at Sutherland in recent years. “My first rally that I did was thirty people and now we can get two buses to a strike. It has been great that different clinical areas can now talk to each other. I think during COVID we became quite siloed.”

Colette is looking forward to becoming even more active as a new NSWNMA Councillor.

“I’ve had to call for support throughout my career and the Association and the staff were there for me. Now I want to give back. I want our union to grow and become ever more strong and more respected.”

Sheridan Brady, RN, Northern Beaches Hospital

New NSWNMA Councillor Sheridan Brady will bring her experience working in the Northern Beaches Hospital, the only hospital in the state that operates in a public-private partnership.

Sheridan, an RN in an ICU, was involved in the campaign to upgrade and save the old Manly Hospital. While unsuccessful, a parliamentary inquiry subsequently saw plans to extend the controversial public-private model to five regional hospitals cancelled.

“Licences can be issued to private hospitals by NSW Health without any mandates around safe staffing,” Sheridan says.

“When Northern Beaches opened there were significant problems with staffing and stock. Before it opened, some people didn’t even have job offers.”

The enterprise agreement with the operator Healthscope means staff are “paid below the public nurses and our conditions are significantly less than in the public sector.”

Sheridan has been a union member throughout her 30-year career working across mental health and ICU wards.

“The day I registered, I was at university picking up my bits and pieces and there was a person who came and spoke to us about what the union is all about and so I joined.”

In 1998, Sheridan received union support when she was involved in a critical incident and had to attend the Coroners Court. 

Sheridan’s priorities as a new councillor are fair pay and safe staffing. “You can’t have one without the other. To have safe staffing, you need to be able to attract, recruit and retain nurses and midwives.”

“Being in a private-public hospital has opened my eyes to how important it is to be bonded as nurses and midwives together, whether we are public, private or aged care.”