Minister says no elective surgery will be cancelled, but nurses disagree
THE State Government and nurses’ union remain at loggerheads over whether elective surgery will be cancelled if the union escalates its campaign for action to ease pressure on clogged EDs.
- Elizabeth Dabars: Nurses always stood up against bad decisions
- Caleb Bond: The whole argument has become childish farce
CONFUSION reigns over the elective surgery debacle – the Health Minister insists surgeries won’t be cancelled, the nurses’ union boss is adamant they might be – as patients are being told to turn up for procedures.
The dispute over how fast the State Government is moving to free up chronically clogged emergency departments is turning nasty as each side accuses the other of putting patient safety at risk.
More than 100 nurses rallied at the Royal Adelaide Hospital yesterday in support of faster action to ease pressure on EDs or face escalating industrial action including cancellation of Category 3 elective surgery from Thursday.
However, Health Minister Stephen Wade and SA Health chief nurse Jenny Hurley said an Industrial Tribunal ruling prevented such a move.
Hospitals are contacting all patients scheduled for elective surgery to assure them their procedures will go ahead.
“I can assure patients if they are ready for elective surgery on Thursday or beyond the doctors, nurses and hospitals will be ready to provide their care,” Mr Wade said
Ms Hurley backed the guarantee, saying: “There will be no disruption to elective surgery as planned due to industrial action. At the moment the information that has gone out from the union is confusing nurses.
“We will not be cancelling surgery due to industrial action; it is a clear message we need to get to the community because patients are calling us and nurses are confused.”
But Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars accused Mr Wade of “having the wrong end of the pineapple” in his interpretation of the tribunal’s ruling and called on him to provide a circuit breaker to the impasse.
“It is in the minister’s hands and he has the capacity to do that by, for example, opening 20 beds for rehabilitation at the Repatriation General Hospital (in 4-6 weeks),” she said.
“This is about safe patient care. We will not be cancelling elective surgery Categories 1 and 2 … but, in the absence of a circuit breaker, Category 3 and beyond would be cancelled.”
Mr Wade noted he had opened 30 beds in near-city hospitals and 20 beds in private hospitals to ease demand on metropolitan EDs and accused the nurses of “silence” as Labor closed the Repat.
“It is very disappointing the nurses’ union is playing political games with patient safety; it is very important that these patients get the surgery they were promised,” he said.
“I’m very concerned the nurses’ union is wanting to make patient care a pawn in their political games.”
Mr Wade promised more announcements this week on plans to ease ED pressures.