Calvary nurses and midwives commence stop work action in Launceston

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Tasmanian Branch members at Calvary St Vincent's Hospital took a decisive stand on Thursday, September 14, saying they will continue industrial action until concerns about safe staffing levels are addressed.

ANMF members said the stop work action took place following Calvary Health Care's decision to walk away from negotiations for a replacement Enterprise Agreement.

ANMF Tasmanian Branch secretary Emily Shepherd said the union is advocating for a mandated minimum staffing workload model that ensures safe staffing levels on each shift.

"Calvary Health Care's proposed workload model raised significant concerns among ANMF members as it didn't only include nursing and midwifery staff in care hours but also provided a mechanism for Calvary to unilaterally reduce nursing hours without consultation," she said.

"This proposal is deemed unacceptable by ANMF members, given the existing challenges they face in ensuring safe staffing levels, especially during situations like sick leave shortages and forced overtime in theatres."

Theatre nurse Stephanie Simpson said it is lucky no patients have been harmed due to the staffing issues.

"We have really unsafe staffing levels. We're running on the bare minimum," she said.

"We're really, really lucky that nothing bad has actually happened to any of our patients at the moment because of this."

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Surgical nurse Macenzi Lloyd said she is disappointed Calvary isn't cooperating with the union.

"We have a great team behind us, and what brings us to work every day is who we work with. But over time, it's taking its toll," she said.

"We're tired, we're anxious.

"We're upset that Calvary doesn't seem to care about us at all."

A Calvary Health Care spokesperson said while Calvary cared for their staff, they opposed a "rigid public hospital model of staffing for our private hospitals".

"[We] instead proposed a dynamic and collaborative nursing roster system that responds directly to patient needs and admission levels," they said.

"Calvary will continue to prioritise safe care throughout this industrial process and remains open to working with the ANMF (Tasmanian Branch) to address their concerns and discuss possible solutions."

Ms Shepherd said Calvary has been grappling with long-standing recruitment issues.

"The reality is that without sufficient nursing and midwifery staff, health service delivery will grind to a halt," she said.

"Calvary must recognise that their future revenue will be impacted if they do not recruit and retain nurses and midwives."

Ms Shepherd said the ANMF remained open to returning to the negotiating table to discuss these issues further, extending multiple invitations to Calvary for dialogue.

Ms Shepherd said ANMF members were resolved to continue industrial action until their concerns about safe staffing levels are addressed.

"We will continue to support our members to take industrial action to stand up for safe patient care because our members care about patients who are accessing health care services through Calvary facilities," she said.

"If Calvary doesn't come back to the table, it is their services that are going to be adversely affected."

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