Union flags lack of clarity for health staff at virus hot spot in Tasmania’s North-West

In its submission to the independent review into the COVID-19 outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital, the Tasmanian branch of the Health and Community Services Union has outlined nine points of concern.

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CONFUSING directions, clarity around an outbreak management plan, and underlying reasons why some staff came to work while sick are among key issues raised by the state’s largest health union out of a deadly coronavirus cluster in Tasmania’s North-West.

In its submission to the independent review into the COVID-19 outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital, the Tasmanian branch of the Health and Community Services Union outlined nine points of concern.

The outbreak of the virus at Burnie’s North West Regional Hospital started on or about April 3, and the union said issues were raised about the consistency of the change from normal management to an incident management team.

The North West Regional Hospital. Picture: AAP/SIMON STURZAKER

HACSU said there were reports from members within the Tasmanian Health Service of “inconsistent and confusing direction and advice” about who was making decisions and directing operational matters.

Issues were also flagged about the process of transferring suspected or possible COVID-19 patients from the NWRH to other facilities, and the advice given to employees when services at the Burnie hospital were temporarily ceased.

HACSU also recommended the review examines how an inability to access paid leave may have influenced the decision of health workers to go to work while they had cold and flu-like symptoms.

The union also said investigation was needed into “the extent to which insecure employment practices influenced workers’ decisions to ignore directions relating to working between facilities, presenting to work while symptomatic and agreeing to accept additional work that was inconsistent with Public Health advice”.

HACSU said the lack of protection for workers to speak out and give honest feedback about what was happening during the outbreak should also be closely examined.

The independent review, headed by barrister Greg Melick, is accepting submissions until Tuesday.

Mr Melick has said the effectiveness of the review relied on “full and frank submissions” being made.

“I have been advised by the government that there will be no breach of the code of conduct committed by a state service employee, acting in good faith, providing evidence, or producing material to the independent reviewer,’’ he said.

Of Tasmania’s 228 confirmed cases of coronavirus, more than 150 have been detected in the North-West, most linked to the hospital outbreak.

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