Launceston General Hospital emergency department staff launch industrial action

After staffing levels fell to a “dangerous” low earlier this week, workers at a Tasmanian hospital appear to have reached the end of their tether and have launched industrial action.

Launceston General Hospital. Picture: Amber Wilson

An “untenable” lack of staff in the emergency department at the Launceston General Hospital this week could have led to “catastrophic outcomes”, the state’s nursing union says.

Members of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) have taken industrial action after a horror night in the Launceston ED on Monday night.

According to ANMF Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd, there were just 20 staff in the department that evening, expected to treat up to 90 patients.

She said the number of nurses later fell to 18 and these were tasked with responding to 78 patients.

Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian branch secretary. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“Our members are incredibly frustrated that the unsafe staffing situation is still ongoing despite the department committing to filling the vacancies months ago,” Ms Shepherd said.

“Members report feeling gaslit by these empty promises.”

The ANMF secretary said the agreed staffing level at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH) ED was 123.15 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff but there were only 104 FTEs currently on the roster.

“The ANMF have been contacted by interstate nurses with ED experience saying that they had reached out to the LGH to work in ED as an agency nurse but had not had a response,” Ms Shepherd said.

“This is simply incredible when there is such a shortage in ED and demonstrates that [not] everything is being done to secure safe staffing.”

Launceston General Hospital. Picture: Amber Wilson

A meeting had been scheduled between the union and the Health Department secretary Dale Webster on Tuesday but this was delayed to Thursday “despite the critical shortage of ED staff on Monday night and staff feeling overwhelmed, undervalued, and desperate,” Ms Shepherd said.

“This simply cannot continue. Should a Category 1 patient [have] been brought in by ambulance on Monday under CPR, this could have resulted in catastrophic outcomes for that patient and others in the ED,” she said.

If the department does not address the situation “immediately”, the ANMF will seek assistance from the Tasmanian Industrial Commission to ensure minimum staffing levels are met.

Health Minister Jacquie Petrusma. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

A Health Department spokesman said there had been a number of unfilled nursing shifts in the LGH ED on Monday because of “unplanned absences”, particularly relating to sick leave.

“Where absences do occur, there are well-established contingency plans to manage this to ensure both the care needs of the community and best practice guidelines on staffing numbers are met. This includes the engagement of agency nurses and engaging with all ED nursing staff,” he said.

“We look forward to meeting with the ANMF tomorrow to discuss concerns raised and provide an update on a range of longer-term solutions and proposals that have been actioned and/or developed by the department following previous meetings with the ANMF, specifically focused on the LGH ED.”

Health Minister Jacquie Petrusma said the state government valued “our hardworking nurses” and thanked them for their “great work”.

“I have written to the ANMF branch secretary Emily Shepherd earlier this week, and I look forward to working closely with her, our staff, and the department to address their concerns,” Ms Petrusma said.

The minister said the government had recruited almost 1300 additional healthcare workers since embarking on a hiring ‘blitz’ in April, including nearly 300 staff at hospitals in the North of the state.