SA Pathology looks to cut its nurse workforce by more than half

They were frontline heroes of the pandemic but SA Pathology wants to replace nurses with lower-qualified health officers, despite claims this could compromise patient safety.

SA Pathology plans to cut its nurse workforce by more than half in a move nurses fear will put patient safety at risk.

While the state government this week was boasting about hiring nurse graduates to boost the overall workforce, SA Pathology released a consultation paper to staff indicating it was preparing to get rid of up to 22 full time equivalent nursing positions.

This will leave 10 nurses for the metropolitan pathology collection service.

The move will see nurses replaced by phlebotomists – health officers trained to draw blood samples.

Nurses whose jobs are on the line note many patients have complex physical and behavioural issues which require trained care and warn of potential risks to patients – including children – if a nurse is not supervising blood collection, such as patient deterioration not being identified.

A nurse takes a Covid sample at the testing site at Victoria Park in 2022. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

One woman took to social media to say nurses are being told they are “surplus to requirements.”

“What an amazing thank you for leading the state’s Covid testing response,” she posted on Health Minister Chris Picton’s Facebook site.

SA Health says any nurses who lose their job will be redeployed elsewhere rather than offered redundancy packages.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars warned the job losses could rise to 31 positions.

“We are highly concerned about public safety and the negative impact this will have on the quality and safety of services delivered to the community,” she said. “Many clients accessing the service are complex and require complex care.

“We know these staff are highly skilled and were much sought after during Covid. To kick them out the door following Covid is not only short sighted but fundamentally wrong.”

A 37-page consultation paper released to staff notes private pathology organisations “provide their patient services solely with non-nursing staff.”

“One key element of the review is to ensure the skill set and qualifications of our staff are matched with the duties of their role to provide the best patient experience across all sites,” a SA Pathology statement says.

A comment on Chris Picton's Facebook page in response to Chris Picton’s post that said: “Today 360 new nurses are starting their new jobs. And we’re giving ALL our nurses a pay rise ... THANK YOU - to all our nurses. Today, tomorrow and every day.”

“The balance of phlebotomy and nursing staff is critical to ensure the continued delivery of a high quality service, which is why we are seeking the feedback from staff on the ground.

“Any qualified nurse not kept in their existing role under the proposed change will be offered positions within critical areas of the health system in line with the relevant training and skills of each individual. This will help meet the demand.”

A four-week consultation period is underway.

SA Pathology says any proposed changes “will not impact the high quality care delivered by SA Pathology or the services it delivers to our patients.”

The proposed nurse cuts come after SA Pathology was saved from the threat of privatisation by a program of efficiencies as well as the onset of the pandemic which saw demand for its services skyrocket amid long queues at testing stations.

The former Labor government considered cutting its workforce by 332 jobs for annual savings of $42.2m, later revising this to 278 jobs but dumped the plan in the face of union hostility.

Then the former Liberal government conducted its own review and threatened to cut 204 jobs and privatise the service but this plan also was shelved as efficiencies were achieved and the pandemic hit.

Opposition health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn said nurses at SA Pathology were frontline heroes during the pandemic.

“Health was the centrepiece of Labor’s election campaign, and to hear that Peter Malinauskas is now making a decision to cut the SA Pathology nursing workforce by half is incredibly concerning,” she said.

“This is a cruel cut to nursing levels and a snap restructure is no way to thank the very people who stepped up to support us when we needed it most.

“Has Peter Malinauskas forgotten about their efforts? Not to mention we are still living with Covid-19 in our community, with close to 7000 PCR tests conducted just last week.

“We can’t forget SA Pathology is responsible for a range of other important and lifesaving tests for diseases, like cancer, and we are concerned about what impact this could have on service delivery.”

Health Minister Chris Picton stressed there would be no redundancies, noting the previous government had more than 200 nurse redundancies.

“We will be increasing nurse numbers across the health care system,” he said.