Uncertainty and pressure for Allied Health Professionals mounts at RPH and FHHS
Monday 12 May 2014
The commissioning of Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) has long been viewed as chaotic - with repeated delays, technology issues, changes in the services provided by SERCO, and safety at the hospital just some of a very long list of problems.
The HSUWA has been working hard to try to achieve some clarity and certainty for members impacted by the new hospital.
We were starting to make some progress; however, late last week the Department of Health distributed letters to Allied Health Professionals at RPH and FHHS that had the potential to delay the process further.
Titled 'Service Allocation', the letters required our members to make decisions about whether or not they wanted to work at FSH. However, they did not contain any information about hours, roster patterns or reporting lines. This is problematic for anyone but particularly so for those people with parental or carer responsibilities.
The HSUWA had no choice but to initiate a formal dispute in the WA Industrial Relations Commission. In an attempt to resolve the dispute, the HSUWA had a series of discussions this week with senior representatives of SMHS Health Workforce, including many hours in conference at the WA Industrial Relations Commission.
The HSUWA made progress on a number of issues as part of the dispute resolution process, including: an extension of time to respond to the offers and protection of rights should our members not ultimately be able to work at FSH.
We remain frustrated and concerned about a range of matters related to Fiona Stanley. It seems that appropriate planning can be done using forecast activity levels and FTE provisioning tools for other decisions that impact staffing levels, so we are mystified by the apparent 'cart before the horse' processes evident in the FSH planning effort.
Allied Health professional members can expect to hear further information in the weeks ahead about this ongoing dispute. Information can also be sought from the union@hsuwa.com.au
