South Australian Government delays proposed SA Pathology job cuts until after 2018 State Election

THE State Government will postpone proposed job cuts at SA Pathology until after the State Election in March next year.

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THE State Government has shelved plans to cut 196 jobs from SA Pathology until after the election in March next year.

The sudden backflip before cuts were due to start next month follows the spectacular about-face on cuts to cardiology and cancer services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which Health Minister Jack Snelling admitted at the time was a “political decision”.

Unions have been fighting the plan since they were first exclusively revealed in The Advertiser in July 2015 after a review by consultants Ernst and Young found pathology costs in SA were almost 50 per cent higher than the industry-accepted benchmark.

Mr Snelling said a consultation process had received more than 400 submissions, many pointing out problems with the plan, and it was now “back to the drawing board” with the overhaul postponed until at least mid-2018.

“We are suspending the reconfiguration of SA Pathology that has been the source of a lot of consternation in recent months,” he said.

“The State Government and union bodies both agree there are improvements that can be made within SA Pathology.

“But with the move to the new RAH and the introduction of new state-of-the-art technology the time is not right at the movement.

“A working party of clinicians, other staff and union delegates will now be set up to identify opportunities for efficiencies and a time frame in what that can be achieved.”

The working party is not expected to report before at least mid-2018 — after the election — and Mr Snelling has not ruled out job cuts when it does report.

He declined to apologise to staff who had feared to their jobs for the past two years, and blamed the fiasco on flawed “assumptions” in the original report, leaving it to SA Health to see if they would apply for compensation from the consultants.

The job cuts were to save $25 million and officials are now working out how the suspension of the program will impact on the budget.

Mr Snelling rejected the move was a “desk-cleaning exercise” in the lead-up to the election, however Sarah Andrews of the union Professionals Australia representing the workers described it as “an absolute win for our members”.

Professionals Australia had repeatedly warned the job cuts would impact on patient safety, with longer waiting time for diagnoses and treatment.

The SA Salaried Medical Officers Association and Ambulance Employees Association had also warned against the planned cuts.

In March this year when the figure of 196 job cuts was confirmed, SA Pathology director Dr Glenn Edwards said new technology would cover the planned redundancies.

He now says “feedback indicates we need more discussion and review before any changes are implemented”.

Opposition Health spokesman Stephen Wade said it was “yet another example of a Weatherill Government backflip”.

“After years of talking about changes to SA Pathology we have had yet another backflip — they have been consulting on it for years and now no decision will be made until after the election,” he said.

The original consultant’s reported aimed to cut the workforce of 2000 by 332 and seek annual savings of $42.2 million.