THE NSW health minister has refused to intervene in the ongoing staffing dispute at Tamworth hospital, saying management would continue to negotiate through the Industrial Relations Commission.
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“I believe politicians should not interfere in clinical decisions and trust the doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and hospital staff to make decisions for the benefit of patients,” minister Jillian Skinner said. Her comments come after long ambulance delays at Tamworth hospital’s emergency department earlier this week, with local members of the Health Services Union (HSU), which covers the state’s paramedics,
alleging the problem was exacerbated by staff shortages in the ED.
HSU secretary Gerard Hayes said ambulance delays at EDs were a statewide issue that were putting lives at risk in the event they were needed in the community for 000 callouts.
Mrs Skinner said the Tamworth community had a new emergency department “they can be proud of” and she was “confident the ED’s performance will continue to improve with time”.
Hunter New England Health said yesterday in regard to this week’s ambulance delays, 152 patients had presented at the Tamworth ED on Monday, and a total of 18 ambulances had arrived between noon and 7pm, with several arriving in quick succession.
Hospital general manager Brad Hansen said the ED had been allocated additional resources at this time, and ambulance crews attached to stations outside Tamworth took transfer-of-care priority, to allow them to return to their communities as soon as possible.
“The hospital did have capacity and a number of patients were admitted to the wards from the emergency department,” he said.
Mr Hansen said a new mechanism to “streamline” patients through the Tamworth ED had opened on Wednesday. This short-stay unit would mean “a freeing-up” of treatment spaces in the ED, reducing short-term patient admissions to the hospital’s main wards.
“Tamworth hospital has not been made aware of any incidents where patient care has been compromised, or potentially compromised, as a result of the ED staffing,” he said.
Local members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association are lobbying for increased staffing levels within the emergency and maternity departments of Tamworth Hospital, with the Industrial Relations Commission recommending a trial of extra nursing hours within the ED.
Management has yet to act on the recommendation.
