SA Health staff at RAH, QEH and WCH asked to consider voluntary redundancy packages

Thousands of SA Health workers have indicated an interest in voluntary redundancy as administrators continue to savagely cut the budget.

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SA Health faces a stampede of workers seeking to cash in on a voluntary separation package offer open until December, with thousands – including doctors and nurses – indicating interest.

It follows an offer to SA Pathology workers, which saw 200 staff apply but only 100 granted redundancy packages.

The Opposition and unions have blasted the announcement, warning it will see doctors and nurses walk – though two-thirds of doctors in affected hospitals are contractors, so are not eligible.

The VSP deal is open to workers in the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, which includes the Royal Adelaide and Queen Elizabeth hospitals, and also the Wom­en’s and Children’s Health Network.

There are more than 13,000 workers in CALHN and, in a recent internal survey, more than one-third indicated interest in “options” such as taking a package.

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said the last Budget showed 1100 SA Health jobs were on the line.

CALHN chief executive Lesley Dwyer said there was no target figure for the VSPs, adding: “We don’t know how many people will be interested.

“We are doing this so we can start to think about what is the right size and shape of our workforce in the future.”

Staff in the Central Adelaide Local Health Network — which includes the RAH and QEH — and Women’s and Children’s are being offered redundancies. Picture: Matt Loxton

CALHN is being overhauled by administrators KordaMentha following a budget blowout approaching $300 million a year. They have achieved a $100 million saving in six months but the Opposition warns that jobs and beds will go at the RAH and QEH to achieve its aims.

Ms Dwyer, pictured, said the VSP plan was being driven by her office, not KordaMentha. “Over the past few months we have been redesigning the way we work to ensure service delivery continues to put patients at the centre of everything we do, and so that we can become more efficient in the way we do things,” Ms Dwyer said. “This process is not about targeting individual staff; offering VSPs gives us the opportunity to realign our resources.

“We need to operate within our means, and to bring CALHN back to a size and a shape that will allow us to realise the ambition that we have for the future.”

Mr Picton said the health system was being wound down while ambulance ramping was rising.

Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade refused to be drawn on how many jobs may be on the line, saying the government is committed to a “sustainable workforce.”

He said staff had been asking for the opportunity for VSPs, but not all applications would be accepted.