Coronavirus: Gold Coast casual nurse hours slashed in middle of global COVID-19 pandemic

Gold Coast casual nurses have had their hours cut in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, leaving some worried about paying their bills.

GOLD COAST casual nurses claim they have had their hours cut in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, but authorities say they will need their help come the expected coronavirus peak.

In a text message sent by the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (HHS) Nursing Midwifery Unit Support (NMUS) office last week, pool casual nurses were told that their rostered hours would be lowered due to a drop in regular and elective procedures, a decision made to ready the hospital for a predicted jump in coronavirus cases.

“We have decreased demand for staff across the HHS due to the movement and decanting of wards as the organisation prepare for the impact of COVID19,” the message read.

“We are aware that our casual staff are being impacted by this.”

GOLD COAST AIRPORT CLOSES TERMINAL AS LAST FLIGHTS DEPART

The Gold Coast University Hospital. Picture: AFP

MORE NEWS

Coast man’s remarkable birthday party in quarantine hotel

NRL confirms season restart date

Gold Coast Airport closes terminal as last flights depart

The casual nurses were instead offered temp contracts for a .2 full time equivalent base workload with the option to increase as demand grows.

An AIN (Assistant in Nursing) who spoke to the Bulletin anonymously said the cutbacks have hit many financially.

“Most of our hours have been cut, because they have cut back a lot of services which mean AINs aren’t’ needed,” she said.

“Because they have emptied up beds, there is no work for us.

“We have rent and bills to pay, some have been in tears but right now some of us are only getting a few shifts.

“I’ll be OK for a couple of weeks, but if it doesn’t pick up by then I don’t know.”

Because the nurses are still considered to be employed despite the drop in hours they are not eligible for any unemployment benefits to help them make up the difference in their usual pay cheques.

A spokeswoman for Gold Coast Health said the hospital was preparing a COVID-19 response to meet the expected demand of the pandemic.

“At this stage, we have not yet experienced a surge in admissions, and we thank Gold Coasters for the measures they are taking,” the spokeswoman said.

“Right now, the demand for admissions is manageable so our permanent staffing levels are adequate to cover our needs. As demand for services increases we will draw on our casual staff for more shifts.”

The Bulletin understands despite some cuts to hours for casuals, additional nurses, doctors allied health professionals and cleaning staff have been required to meet additional demand ahead.