Medical staff at five Sydney hospitals are demanding management explain the silent culling of hundreds of jobs from the network, as health districts come under increasing pressure from the NSW government to rein in spending.
Sydney Local Health District chief executive Deb Willcox, who was appointed to the role last month, met senior doctors from Royal Prince Alfred, Concord, Canterbury, Balmain and Sydney Dental hospitals on Friday after staff at Concord raised concerns about a proposed reduction in full-time equivalent positions over the financial year.
Deb Willcox was appointed chief executive of the Sydney Local Health District last month.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Doctors told a meeting of Concord Hospital’s medical staff council on October 24 that the hospital was funded for 2241 full-time positions over this financial year – a figure management had told them was about 60 fewer than the previous year.
The doctors said they had been told more than 400 jobs would go across the health district. A source familiar with the reductions but not authorised to speak publicly said the number was closer to 210.
Sydney Local Health District did not answer detailed questions about how many full-time roles would be going and whether clinical staff would be affected.
A spokesperson said the health district was transitioning away from its COVID response and had “undertaken a review of our staffing structure to ensure we are best positioned for sustainable growth and the continued provision of high-quality care”.
“We are consulting staff and their unions throughout this process,” the spokesperson said.
The Concord medical staff council voted unanimously to support a motion opposing any staff reduction “that adversely affects the care provided to our patients and the health and wellbeing of staff”.
The reductions would mainly be the result of existing vacancies not being filled and temporary contracts not being renewed, Health Minister Ryan Park’s office confirmed.
“No permanent staff roles will be impacted by this reduction as Sydney Local Health District adapts to the needs of the community after its pandemic phase as part of a three-year plan,” Park said.
He said the government had made almost 100 nurses’ roles permanent across the health district in the state budget.
Nurses at RPA, who were not authorised to speak publicly, said staff numbers had been declining for months owing to vacancies not being backfilled and temporary workers leaving.
They said the hospital’s pharmacy unit had been particularly hard hit, resulting in more work and longer waits for other clinical staff.
NSW Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes said the reductions in the pharmacy area in particular were “another very regrettable episode of mismanagement” and left frontline workers having to do more with less.
“We are trying to get to the bottom of exactly how this came to pass,” he said.
Sydney is the latest health district to confirm staff reductions after North Sydney Local Health District revealed at least 55 allied health jobs would go, and South Eastern Sydney Local Health District cut about 70 administrative roles.
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