South East healthcare union claims restructure exhausted employees and doubled workloads without pay increases

Heath Services Union represents allied health professionals such as psychologists and radiologists, paramedics, hospital security, catering services workers, admin staff, and cleaners.

HSU organiser Mark Jay said the issues facing the healthcare system were of national significance, but the Southern Local Health District was in a unique position due to a restructure that led to the merge of the Eurobodalla and Bega Valley networks into one Coastal Network.

A spokesperson from the Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) said the organisational restructure was finalised in June 2021 with "no cuts to frontline clinical positions and no forced redundancies".

The SNSWLHD spokesperson said that staff who applied for "voluntary redundancy" were in management and administration roles.

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Mr Jay said the union felt the purpose of the restructure was to "reduce staffing levels" through shuffling the Coastal Network together.

He claimed the restructure created immense pressure on workers as their workloads "doubled or tripled" without wage increases.

The SNSWLHD spokesperson said the restructure was designed in consultation with staff and unions.

"To allow the District to meet the health needs of local communities both now and into the future, with the establishment of a range of new positions and opportunities for staff focusing on patient care," they said.

According to HSU, the restructure led to to the loss of 100 staff members across the Coastal Network, including experienced general managers, allied health team leaders, senior human resource directors, and security staff.

Mr Jay reiterated this reduction in staff occurred at the height of the pandemic, when staff were already dealing with extra workloads, heightened anxiety, and putting themselves and their families at risk before a vaccine became available.

"People don't want to come into a COVID environment where there's a possibility they could catch it or infect their family when they know too well their workloads are through the roof and morale is extremely low," he said.

The SNSWLHD spokesperson responded to this claim by suggesting staffing levels had actually increased by 32.5 per cent overall between mid-2012 and mid-2021.

The spokesperson said the additional 575 full-time equivalent staff over those 10 years comprised of "29 more doctors, 242 more nurses and midwives and 71 more allied health staff".

The HSU said the Coastal Network region was struggling to retain and attract healthcare workers due to workplace conditions and a jump in the cost of living and housing prices on the South Coast.

"Then there's no career progression because they haven't updated the conditions for the climate and have an award structure that is extremely outdated and needs to be modernised," he said.

The SNSWSLHD spokesperson said attracting and retaining the required workforce to rural and regional locations had been a "long-standing challenge in Australia and internationally".

Mr Jay argued that it was the conditions of employment and low morale in the Coastal Network that had exacerbated the staff retention problem.

"The conditions of employment are so outdated and archaic that there are no provisions in there for today's changes, such as provisions around COVID leave," he said.

"Until health staff see appropriate support, relevant conditions of employment, and better pay, they won't be able to recruit for these jobs."

READ ALSO: Healthcare workers shed light on the strain to care system under COVID-19 conditions

The SNSWLHD spokesperson acknowledged there were vacancies at South East Regional Hospital (SERH), but that they were "unrelated to the organisational restructure".

The union said healthcare workers were also unsatisfied with the wage cap policy introduced in 2011, that dictated a ceiling wage increase of 2.5 per cent.

The Ministry of Health awarded a wage increase of 0.3 per cent in 2020, and an increase of 2.04 per cent in 2021, so the HSU has been pushing for a 5.5 per cent pay rise to account for the gaps and rising costs of living.

"It's actually pathetic to think that the government calls hospital workers healthcare heroes, but they don't financially reward them in any shape or form," Mr Jay said.

The Ministry of Health was contacted for comment on the wage cap policy and whether it would consider an increase for healthcare workers, but ACM was not provided with a response prior to publishing.

The SNSWLHD praised the 2021-22 $469 million budget for the District, which it said saw an increase of more than $18 million, or 4.1 per cent on the previous year's budget.

HSU delegate for Bega Grant Byrant has been a healthcare worker for 23 years and said, "morale is the worst I've ever seen it".

He said healthcare workers felt, "unsupported and disrespected by the government" due to difficult conditions during COVID and wages unable to keep up with the rising costs of living.

"The government are calling out saying how wonderful the healthcare workers are, but it was a real slap in the face a couple of years ago with a 0.3 per cent pay rise," he said.

"We go into work and get flogged and there's no thanks anywhere along the line for what we do. We feel really respected by the community for what we do, but really disrespected by the government."

He reported colleagues feeling overworked from being asked to work overtime in understaffed conditions or being asked to do duties beyond their usual roles.

"I hear horror stories of people being asked to watch patients and it's not in their job description," he said.

The SNSWLHD did not directly address this claim, but the spokesperson wanted to thank staff "who continue to not only support the community but also their colleagues during this challenging time".

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