Unions call ceasefire with Northern Beaches Hospital

From patients going without food to inadequate medical supplies and the resignation of a CEO, doctors and nurses have been venting their frustration at Northern Beaches Hospital management since it opened.

Doctors and nurses have called a ceasefire on the Northern Beaches Hospital. Picture: Craig Willoughby

• Staff: Northern Beaches Hospital problems caused by bad planning
• Public v Private patients: Northern Beaches Hospital

THE unions representing doctors and nurses at the Northern Beaches Hospital have called a ceasefire while they give management time to fix staffing and medical supply shortages.

Both the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) and the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) said they would be watching and waiting over the next few weeks to see whether the situation improved.

Dr Tony Sara of ASMOF told the Manly Daily union officials were having weekly meetings with private hospital operator Healthscope.

“Healthscope is very committed to resolving the issues raised by the young doctors,” he said.

“We are hopeful that the issues will be fixed in a safe, optimum way as soon as practical.”

The NSWNMA also said it was keen to give the hospital a couple of weeks to resolve the issues.

In a letter on ASMOF’s website dated on Friday, it said the union had developed a database of members’ issues to share with NSW Health and Healthscope.

It revealed that at a meeting with health bosses on Monday, the results of a doctor survey were discussed.

The letter said NSW Health and Healthscope had committed to using the feedback to inform changes at NBH.

The committee agreed to focus its attention on nine immediate priority areas.

They include staffing, workload management, resuscitation trolley stocking and checking, improvements to the paging system and communications, better switchboard performance, improved admissions and allocation of patients to senior doctors and clarification of policy.

Staff and patients at the Frenchs Forest hospital have revealed a catalogue of concerns since it opened on October 30.

Deborah Latta resigned just two days after the hospital opened. Picture: Annika Enderborg.

Patients have complained about long waiting times, having to go without food for 24 hours and feeling sorry for stressed staff.

While staff have reported inadequate stock supplies, with time being lost searching for basics such as bandages or tissues, as well as confusion over how to work machinery and computers.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Healthscope have repeatedly said the issues at the $600m hospital were just “teething problems”.

The CEO Deborah Latta resigned two days after the hospital officially opened.

She said it was always part of the plan to bow out after the hospital had bedded down.

Dr Sara said he had faith in acting CEO Steve Gameren and Healthscope National CMO, Dr Victoria Atkinson.

One patient Eddie Rivers, 78, of Dee Why, who had to Google Healthscope’s number to alert his ward nurse to his beeping machine, said staff were overworked and stressed.

“I think, if it continues, the staff they have got will be so demoralised they will want to quit,” he said.