Hospital staff in fear
Protesters want more security
STAFF are demanding greater security at the Tweed Hospital to stop the weekly knifewielding threats.
About 25 hospital staff spent their lunch break yesterday voicing their concerns at Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s NSW Government. Union members held signs which read “not glad Gladys”, stating the hospital was under-resourced, especially in the security sector.
“We want increased security at this hospital,” Health Services Union organiser Peter Kelly said. “This is one of the most dangerous hospitals in the state. Between Christmas and New Year, we had a major incident here where a knife was produced and the emergency department had to be vacated by patients.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing one to two knives being confiscated weekly.”
Mark Morey, secretary of Unions NSW, said the Berejiklian Government was trying to phase unions out of the health sector. “What they are trying to do is take away the rights from workers,” he said.
“They are trying to stop workers enforcing their industrial rights especially around safety in the workplace and we see this in the rising number of attacks in emergency and the rising number of incidents in wards.
“They are trying to run a hospital on a shoe-string budget and it is endangering not only workers but the public.”
The union officials wanted more staff at all areas of the hospital. Extra medical staff would lessen waiting times in emergency rooms, they said.
Mr Morey also highlighted the increasing number of ice patients as another reason security at Tweed Hospital needed to be boosted.
“The staff at all hospitals work at 110 per cent, and what the government is not doing is addressing problems before they arise,” he said. “They’re allowing those problems to fester by not having appropriate staffing levels and as a result people are getting injured in the workplace.”
Tweed MP Geoff Provest said he was shocked by reports of recent security scares.
The Nationals Member said he met with the Health Services Union on Tuesday, and told them he would fully investigate the security issue at the hospital if he was reelected on March 23.
“I told them I chaired a Parliamentary inquiry about 18 months ago into these issues and we made 27 recommendations to improve the situation.”