3 February 2022
On Monday, ANMF (SA Branch) CEO/Secretary Adj Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars AM and Exec Director, Operations, Rob Bonner met with the Premier Steven Marshall and Health Minister Stephen Wade outlining your concerns about the crisis in the health system in SA.
As was the case in our last meeting with the Premier on January 18, he took our concerns on board and expressed a willingness to continue meeting with the ANMF (SA Branch), SASMOA and the AEA.
However, his comments in relation to some of the issues raised stand in stark contrast with the decisions of SA Health and some of the LHNs and to date little has changed despite our repeated calls for urgent measures to address them.
The issues raised with the Premier were as follows:
1. Impact of Pandemic on Staff: In relation to the impact of the pandemic on staff, we acknowledged that the Premier had communicated his personal appreciation to staff. While this is acknowledged and welcomed, we advised that staff continue to feel significant pressures and desperately need practical acknowledgement in the workplace.
2. Weekly Meetings: In relation to weekly meetings, the Premier advised that the Minister for Health will join the weekly updates provided by the Department to Unions and indicated his willingness and intention to continue to schedule regular meetings with us. He also indicated a preparedness for us to contact him between meetings should this be considered necessary by us. We noted and thanked him for this.
- Action: Weekly meetings to continue and contact in-between with the Premier’s office as necessary
3. Capacity Plans: We referenced our desire to see better articulated capacity to shift increased bed capacity / transfer of activity to other settings to free beds and workforce to manage demand. In particular:
- We noted the Premier’s public statements that demand was being managed, and our concern that, in contradiction to this, CALHN has produced a document titled ‘CAHLN Nursing Workforce Surge Implementation Plan’ that cuts 70-100 nursing shifts per day and seeks to engage student nurses as unpaid workers which we regard as exploitative. We asked for the Premier’s commitment to reject the plan. He advised that he did not agree, as a matter of principle, with exploitative practices and he would take the matter on notice.
- Action: Premier to advise if he rejects or supports the ‘CAHLN Nursing Workforce Surge Implementation Plan’.
- NB CALHN have acted to implement these plans without our consent and without further advice to us that they intended to do so
- We again requested a clear plan on the bed and workforce capacity within the system. The Premier agreed that transparency and clarity was important and that he would seek to make plans available. He also enquired as to what timeframe was acceptable in relation to adequate notification of changed plans that impact on workforce. We advised that (at least) a 2-week timeframe is important for nursing/midwifery and medical workforce.
Action: Premier to provide bed and workforce capacity plans and to provide 2-week notice of matters affecting workforce.
- Ambulance Response Times: We are deeply concerned that 40% of ambulance response times to Priority 1 calls are not being met within the designated timeframe. We sought the Premier’s urgent attention and follow-up to this issue which was raised at our previous meeting.
Action: Premier to advise on Priority 1 Ambulance Response Times.
4. PPE/RAT Dashboard: The Premier and the Minister of Health advised that the dashboard report on the supply and availability of PPE/Ras – including disclosure of stock held and duration of availability to meet current use has been re-enlivened and will be released within the week.
- Action: Minister for Health to release PPE/RAT dashboard within a week.
5. System-Wide Response: We again referenced our concern that the LHNs needed to operate more cohesively and strategically and the failure to do so is placing significant pressure on CALHN. We understand that 30-40% capacity is still available in other LHNs but that pressure remains congested in the CALHN. The Premier indicated his support for SA Health operating cohesively during the course of the pandemic and that he has raised this and provided a direction to that effect to the LHNs.
6. Aged Care: The Premier advised that he had raised support for aged care facilities at National Cabinet and that he had been provided with reassurance in relation specifically to their PPE and workforce capacity. We reiterated our interest in, and he advised he would, ask the Commonwealth to be involved in a forum for local work with providers, unions and both level of Government that will support residents and staff.
- Action: Premier to invite Commonwealth to Union and Provider Forum.
7. Workforce: We again raised our concern with workforce availability and plans and strategies to address workforce both in the short and longer term. Given the Premier’s in-principle agreement to create a new structure that includes genuine participation by unions in planning regarding the hospital and health service workforce in the medium and longer term, we asked that he advise of his proposal for this new structure to engage on and address current and future workforce.
- Action: Premier to advise proposal for new workforce engagement structure.
The ANMF (SA Branch) plans to continue to meet with the Premier to raise our concerns and will update members as a matter of priority.
Please see our letter to the Premier and the joint health unions letter to the Premier here: Urgent Letter to Premier Rejection of CALHN Nursing Surge Workforce Plan and ANMF SA Branch AEA and SASMOA Joint Letter to Premier