After a three-year long fight, the Clarence Valley Branch of the NSWNMA has successfully pressured Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) to improve security measures at Grafton Base Hospital.  

After a spate of violent incidents in the hospital’s emergency department, members from the Clarence Valley Branch decided to take action to keep staff and patients safe.  

The branch took the matter to SafeWork, who issued an Improvement Notice  to NNSWLHD to improve security at the hospital, including hiring an additional dedicated Health and Security Assistant (HASA) to patrol the emergency department.  

However, the Local Health District failed to comply with the Notice. As a result, the branch resolved to cease unsafe work under the Work Health and Safety Act.  

Collectively, branch members gathered signatures from across the hospital to indicate agreement and compliance with the action. Their action garnered the support of a large number of staff, including both nurses and medical staff who indicated their unwillingness to undertake unsafe work.   

After extensive negotiation in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission and the threat of an unstaffed Emergency Department and media attention, NNSWLHD finally agreed to comply with SafeWork’s Notice, and introduce a suite of security measures including the addition of an extra HASA.  

Branch official Darren Demmery lauded the win and the branch’s resolve.  

“We’ve had serious incidents where we’ve had doctors and nurses having to tackle patients to keep them and the other patients safe,” Mr Demmery said.  

“We could be holding a patient down for ten minutes waiting for police to arrive. It’s been a long time coming.” 

NNSWLHD has agreed to implement the change immediately.