8 November 2018
Mersey Community Hospital Industrial Action Escalates – Theatre Staff Postpone Elective Procedures Tomorrow
Media Doorstop:
When: TOMORROW, Friday 9 November 2018
Where: Outside Mersey Community Hospital Main Entrance
Time: 2:00pm
Who: Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary and ANMF Theatre Representative
Members of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian Branch (ANMF) working at the Mersey Community Hospital, will tomorrow escalate their industrial action by postponing non-urgent elective surgery. This action is in pursuit of a competitive offer from the Tasmanian Government for public sector nurses and midwives as part of ongoing enterprise agreement negotiations.
The ANMF Tasmanian Branch entered good faith negotiations with the Tasmanian Government on 31 May this year and to date have not been able to negotiate a fair and reasonable outcome for members.
“Members at the Mersey Community Hospital Theatre, along with nurses and midwives across the State, believe that the Tasmanian Government must urgently recognise the current workforce and their significant goodwill before it has an increasingly dire impact on the ability to retain and recruit,” said ANMF Branch Secretary Emily Shepherd.
“The Tasmanian Government relies upon Theatre nurses at the Mersey Community Hospital to reach their elective surgery target, yet to date they have refused to negotiate a competitive package to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of highly skilled Theatre nurses for the future.”
“Retention and recruitment of trained Theatre nurses is an ongoing priority, and this will become a significant challenge if the Tasmanian Government stick to their wage policy of a 2% increase which will ultimately see Tasmanian nurses and midwives become the worst paid in the country,” said Ms Shepherd.
Future nursing and midwifery shortages across Australia are dire with a projected shortage of 123,000 by 2030. However, research also indicates that with investment in recruitment and retention, this figure could potentially be reduced to 45,000 by 2030.
“Members have had enough, they are prepared to stand up, and will stand up for safe and quality patient care and to ensure there are sustainable nursing and midwifery professions for the future. They will continue to take action until their concerns are addressed,” said Ms Shepherd.
FULL MEDIA RELEASE TO FOLLOW TOMORROW
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Media contact:
Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary
Mobile: 0400 884 021
Email: emily.shepherd@anmftas.org.au