Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade says elective surgeries must continue, after Employment Tribunal protest ruling
NURSES have gathered outside the Royal Adelaide Hospital to rally against emergency department overcrowding, despite the State Government saying they lack the legal power to do so.
THE SA NURSE STRIKE: Moves and countermoves.
- SUNDAY: Nurses vow to cancel surgeries after Tribunal approves action
- FRIDAY: State Government takes union to court
- THURSDAY: Nurses warned over planned industrial action
- OPINION: Check your facts, Mr Wade. It’s always been about patients
NURSES have gathered outside the Royal Adelaide Hospital to rally against emergency department overcrowding, despite the State Government saying they lack the legal power to do so.
A standoff between Health Minister Stephen Wade and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation escalated at the weekend after a challenge to the threatened action was brought in the SA Employment Tribunal.
The planned action is in response to overcrowding, particularly in emergency departments.
Each side of the argument emerged with radically different interpretations of the ruling, which Mr Wade said banned nurses from stopping any elective surgeries.
ANMF SA secretary Elizabeth Dabars said nurses would continue with protest action as planned. That includes an expected escalation from today to delay things like arthroscopies, knee reconstructions and cataract treatments deemed non-urgent.
Professor Dabars urged Mr Wade to deliver a “circuit breaker” by giving more information on which country beds he planned to open up and moving quickly on restoring services at the Repat Hospital.
A protest at the Royal Adelaide Hospital began at 2pm today with action at other sites also in the works.
“This has always been and will continue to be about patient safety,” Prof Dabars said.
“Nurses are seriously concerned that patients’ lives are being placed at risk in the current crisis and that is why nurses are stepping up to act.”
She said SA Health gave Mr Wade a plan “on a platter”, but “he is just being belligerent and will simply not do it for reasons I do not understand”.
Earlier yesterday, Mr Wade strengthed his rhetoric against the union and said it appeared “determined to take industrial action” after “moving the goalposts” during negotiation.
The dispute was triggered last week after a new breakout of ambulance ramping and emergency department overcrowding in hospitals. Crisis talks between Mr Wade and unions were held late on Friday, before the SAET hearing.
He said its orders “dramatically wound back the industrial action” available.
“No hospital elective surgery will be cancelled as a result of the industrial bans,” Mr Wade said yesterday.
He said the Government agreed to significant union demands including a push for an extra 50 beds. Mr Wade said these concessions were met with further demands, as the ANMF “move the goalposts”.
“We don’t oppose the right of people to take industrial action,” Mr Wade said. “What we do say is that it’s unhelpful.
“Withdrawing surgery from patients is a last resort.
“I’m surprised that the nurses’ union, that claims to be putting the patients first, would have gone to that as their first tool. “I think it’s cruel.”
Mr Wade said he was preparing further announcements soon to ease the pressure on the state’s hospital system.
DO YOU HAVE ELECTIVE SURGERY IN THE COMING DAYS? CONTACT US ON 8206 2300 OR NEWSTIP@ADV.NEWSLTD.COM.AU.