Victoria Merritt alleges she suffered a psychiatric/psychological injury whilst employed by the Hunter New England Local Health District. The NSW Workers Compensation Commission agrees.
January 10, 2017
WA Labor has promised to introduce anti-stab vests for hospital security staff if it wins the March election, but the Premier said he did not see the need to turn hospitals into “quasi-military establishments”. Labor leader Mark McGowan said the proposal, which also includes personal duress alarms for regional health workers, was to counter an increasing number of assaults on health sector workers.
January 10, 2017
A nurse who was under investigation for allegedly assaulting a two-year-old was still working in a remote NT clinic when she died at her desk last week. The nurse died of a suspected heart attack but the Central Australia Health Service would not confirm an question. “It is inappropriate to comment on any matters that are in the hands of the Coroner,” a spokeswoman for the service said. The service also refused to answer why the nurse was still employed in the NT while she was being investigated over an alleged assault of a patient.
January 10, 2017
Business has expressed alarm over a new Fair Work Commission ruling that employers fear will help unions interfere in enterprise agreements struck between companies and employees in non-unionised workplaces. In a significant decision delivering victory to the militant construction union, a three-member commission full bench ruled unions should, apart from exceptional circumstances, be given access to documents filed by companies in support of agreements covering workplaces without union members. Employers declared the decision was a blow to companies seeking to deal directly with their workers and would encourage unions to exploit technical aspects of the Fair Work Act to stymie bargaining in workplaces where unions have no members.
December 23, 2016
A man will front court on Thursday after he allegedly defrauded about $100,000 from unsuspecting Queensland car owners. Police allege the man responded to online car advertisements pretending to be a doctor and that he claimed to put money into his victims’ bank accounts before he took possession of their cars. He even allegedly dressed up as a doctor while he inspected the vehicles.
December 23, 2016
Working conditions at Mt Gambier Hospital have become “untenable and unworkable” and have forced understaffed and stressed nurses to take court action. Overworked doctors at the state’s largest regional hospital are also taking action and will meet with the State Government in the Industrial Relations Commission today to ensure adequate staffing levels. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation secretary Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars said the union would lodge complaints against Country Health SA in the IRC, also today — a move which could result in fines. She said the hospital was failing to fill 14 nursing shifts, or an eight-hour shift every day, over a fortnight period, which was ultimately putting patients’ lives at risk, adding: “Staff have been expressing over a significant period of time about pressures and they are deeply concerned and it’s only a matter of time that patient care is negatively affected.
December 23, 2016
Lisa Widmer has won over $6000 from The Kylie Pearce Family Trust T/A ABC Dentistry as an unfair dismissal payout.
December 23, 2016
A Bundaberg Hospital specialist has been sacked over allegations he was drinking on the job. The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service has confirmed the doctor was fired by the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service last month after a period of suspension. Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency records show his medical registration is subject to several restrictions, including some not publicly available because of “privacy concerns”.
