State Government to take nurses union to Industrial Relations Commission

THE State Government is taking legal action against the nurses’ union to stop planned industrial action by staff aimed at addressing the closure of hospital beds at the Royal Adelaide and Queen Elizabeth hospitals.

• Doctors, nurses plan action against bed closures
• Dozens of beds to close at RAH and QEH
• Health chief: Transforming Health ‘a house of straw’
• Claims bed closures will cause ‘up to three deaths a month’

THE State Government is taking legal action against the nurses’ union to stop planned industrial action by staff aimed at addressing the closure of hospital beds.

The stoush between the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the government reached boiling point today, with Health Minister Jack Snelling refusing to back down on his decision to close 55 beds across both the Royal Adelaide and Queen Elizabeth hospitals — despite repeated concerns from angry doctors and nurses.

The union planned to begin industrial action on Saturday, refusing to accept patient admissions to hospital wards unless they could be placed in spaces that catered to their specific needs.

Both the SA Salaried Medical Officers Association and Ambulance Employees Association threw their support behind the union’s actions, which would cause overflowing emergency departments and ramping.

Mr Snelling today said the government had put in an urgent application to the Industrial Relations Commission seeking a hearing on Friday over the nurses’ planned industrial action.

“My concern is the welfare of patients and I don’t want to see patients being caught in the crossfire because of a disagreement between the nurses union and the Royal Adelaide Hospital,” Mr Snelling said.

“My bottom line is I want the nurses’ union back at the table — I want to talk with them about what we can do to address concerns that they’ve raised.”

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA CEO adjunct Professor Elizabeth Dabars.

But Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federaltion chief executive officer adjunct Professor Elizabeth Dabars urged the government to “stop playing legal games”.

“Why doesn’t the Minister just simply reopen those beds?” she said.

“They must keep these beds open — all of the evidence is there to say that the beds are required so no matter what they’re shifting — the bottom line is those beds are needed right now.

“There are people in corridors … banking up in the emergency department — those beds are required and there are people waiting to fill those beds as we speak.”

Ms Dabars said the union would continue campaigning until the government could demonstrate the beds were no longer required.

“That evidence is not being met — and all of the evidence is to the contrary,” she said.

“We’re not going to back down on this.”

SA Health chief executive officer Vickie Kaminski and Health Minister Jack Snelling have repeatedly stated they are “not closing any hospital beds” but they are “relocating” 55 beds to the Lyell McEwin Hospital and two aged care homes where they are needed most.

SA Salaried Medical Officers Association president Dr David Pope said the union had not directly communicated with the State Government over the bed closures, but they had lodged forms with the Industrial Relations Commission over fears about the closures and a lack of consultation.

“When we write to the government and express concerns, we find we are ignored and often painted in the way which is not accurate,” he said.

“We support (the nurses’ union’s planned action) to have those beds remain open — that’s absolutely critical for patients in the future.”

“Right now, we’ve got to have a government responding to the needs of the people of South Australia and right now, we’re not seeing that.”

Dr Pope said something drastic had to change within government to allow better consultation and decisions across the health system.

“Whether that involves sacking the Minister or something else, that remains to be seen,” he said.

Yesterday, the Opposition voiced renewed calls to sack Mr Snelling and today, they called on Premier Jay Weatherill to intervene in the hospital bed closure crisis to avoid a “potential hospital crisis”.

“The failure to urgently reopen ward S7 (at the RAH) will condemn the RAH and TQEH to overloading in their EDs and ramping ambulances,” Opposition leader Steven Marshall said.