‘Not safe’: Nurses protest over Hobart Private Hospital staff shortages

Angry nurses protested outside the Hobart Private Hospital on Wednesday over what they see as a dangerous lack of staffing. LATEST >>

Angry nurses protested outside the Hobart Private Hospital on Wednesday over what they see as a dangerous lack of staffing.

It comes after 11-month-long negotiations broke down between the hospital and the Health and Community Services Union over their working conditions.

Hobart Private Hospital registered nurse Christine Hansson said the workload was “busy as”, and that they desperately needed some more hands on deck to keep up with the demand.

SHORT STAFFED: Royal Hobart Private Hospital registered nurse Christine Hansson says health workers are chronically understaffed. Picture: Kenji Sato

“We’ve been negotiating this Enterprise Bargaining Agreement since November last year and it’s been a real struggle” Ms Hansson said.

“Ultimately we’re here to protect our patients to make sure they have the best outcomes, and if we’re stressed, overwork, and unable to do that, then it’s not safe.”

Union secretary Tim Jacobson said Covid cases would have flow-on effects into the private sector, but that Hobart Private Hospital was woefully ill-equipped to handle such a scenario.

Mr Jacobson said recruiting specialists was a difficult task, but that the hospital could at the very least hire some nursing assistants to help manage the workload.

“We have a private hospital that is well below the average in terms of nursing numbers in particular than the other facilities in Tasmania and are struggling to recruit staff,” Mr Jacobson said.

“What staff want are additional hands on the job on a daily basis to provide some additional support in the event that nursing staff aren’t available for their shifts.”

‘Unending cycle of crisis’: Inside Tasmania’s hospital hell

Words Cameron Whiteley

TASMANIAN hospital staff have spoken of the “exhausting” nature of their work in a report highlighting an “unending cycle of crisis” within the public hospital system nationally.

The Australian Medical Association said urgent reforms to funding arrangements were needed to fix what was described as a steady and sustained decline of hospital performance.

The report said the hospital crisis was already in full swing in every state and territory long before Covid-19 arrived on the country’s shores.

A Tasmanian member of the AMA explained the constant battle they faced in treating patients in stretched emergency departments.

“There are shifts where I have to attend three Category 2 (emergency) patients, all still on their ambulance stretchers, unable to be offloaded due to a lack of space in the (emergency department) or elsewhere,’’ they wrote.

“It’s not unusual to see 6, 8, 10 ambulances parked outside, all waiting to hand over their patients.

“The wider hospital does not have bed capacity. It is exhausting.”

Breaking News Breaking News The Royal Hobart Hospital and the Hedberg Building. Picture Eddie Safarik

While access block is a common theme, transitioning patients out of hospital had also emerged as a serious issue.

“Patients requiring transition to a nursing home or to appropriate disability accommodation ... are staying much longer in an acute hospital setting than is medically necessary,’’ another Tasmanian hospital worker wrote.

“This results in bed block, which then clogs up wards like orthopaedics, general medicine, rehab beds, the stroke unit ... which then leads to delays in patients being admitted from the (emergency department) and the associated inherent dangers in that.”

Another who worked in the emergency department of a rural hospital said many patients were sent there from nursing homes, because there were not enough nurses at the home to care for them.

The AMA’s latest report painted a picture of a public hospital system where there were fewer hospital beds, overcrowded emergency departments and longer waits for elective surgery.

Hospitals were full and there were not enough doctors and nurses, while stories of deaths, deterioration and delayed care were becoming commonplace.

The solution was change the way hospitals were funded, rather than focusing on activity and volume, to a partnership based on community demand and timeliness of treatment.

Dr Omar Khorshid, Australian Medical Association President . Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

AMA president, Dr Omar Khorshid, said the report had been sent to the Prime Minister and every state and territory leader.

“Our analysis couldn’t be clearer about what’s in store for Australian patients in public hospitals if governments keep their heads in the sand,’’ he said.

“Australians expect to receive treatment when they need it. They expect an ambulance to turn up when they call one, and they expect to be able to get into the hospital when they arrive.

“At the moment, these expectations can’t be met and that is a symptom of a public hospital system in crisis.”

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