An application/notification by Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (s.158(!) RO Act – Application for alteration of eligibility rules) will be weighed by Deputy President Lawrence.
September 21, 2016
The Fair Work Commission has allowed a plethora of applications to vary various Brightwater Care Group Limited Registered Nurses Enterprise Agreements.
September 20, 2016
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – contract for specified term – ss.386, 394 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for unfair dismissal remedy – applicant worked as non-going employee and subject to several offers and extensions of employment – respondent investigated certain allegations about applicant pursuant to APS Code of Conduct – process resulted in adverse findings against applicant, with minor sanctions being applied – respondent initially took the view it would not offer applicant an extension to his contract however it changed its mind – respondent offered three-month extension – applicant declined to accept offer – suspicious of respondent’s motives in change of mind and also desired a greater extension – Commission held that applicant’s contract of employment expired through effluxion of time – application without jurisdiction – application dismissed. Mayor v Australian Government Department of Human Services t/a Australian Government Department of Human Services
September 20, 2016
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – misconduct – s.394 Fair Work Act 2009 – applicant employed as carer in nursing home – dismissed for gross misconduct – accused by co-worker of slapping nursing home resident on the mouth – applicant denied event occurred – delay in reporting by co-worker – resident not physically able to give evidence – no physical evidence of alleged event detected – respondent paid the applicant five weeks’ notice on account of good record and long service – details of applicant’s oral evidence varied from her application – application prepared by others – Commission noted competing evidence of the event presented – on balance Commission unable to conclude the alleged conduct had occurred – found dismissal unfair – reinstatement not appropriate – considered notice paid and remuneration earned since termination – ordered compensation of $16,020.27 before tax. Shawl v Anglican Retirement Villages (ARV) t/a Anglican Retirement Villages – Donald Coburn Centre
September 20, 2016
Women working in health professions have a rate of suicide which is three times higher than those in other occupations, says a new Australian study. Researchers said they also found male nurses and midwives had close to double the rate of suicide compared with men in other professions. This was the first time Australian researchers have conducted a nationwide review of suicides in the medical profession, and they say what they found was alarming. The research revealed that female doctors take their own lives at nearly three times the rate of the general population. Female nurses had a suicide risk almost four times greater than women in other jobs. Deakin University’s Dr Allison Milner, the lead author of the research, said one factor for nurses was the fact that it was a “particularly stressful occupation.” “The demands of the job include long working hours, high demand, low control over what they’re doing,” she said. “As well as working in an environment that’s hard to work around your family time and flexibility with rostering.”
September 20, 2016
A prominent Townsville doctor has been stood down after having sex with a patient and fathering a child with another. Dr Praveen Kumar, director of the My Family Doctors at Kirwan, has had his registration suspended on August 30 after an investigation by Health Ombudsman Leon Atkinson-MacEwen. The allegations relate to two women Dr Kumar had hired as staff, treated as patients and engaged in sexual relationships with, with the first complaint filed in 2015 and another in July this year.
September 20, 2016
A woman has been arrested after she allegedly hit two people with her car and collided with several vehicles before assaulting a paramedic south of Toowoomba. Police said the incident started when the 29-year-old woman and a 28-year-old male argued with two residents of a Glen Avon Crt home in Glenvale after they were asked to leave a party at about 5pm yesterday. The male and female occupants of the house were standing near the woman’s car when she reversed and the pair were knocked over by the passenger door which was still open at the time.
September 20, 2016
Shocking new footage of patients attacking staff at Queensland’s biggest hospital has been released as authorities ramp up their efforts to protect health workers. The CCTV captured at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital show three separate incidents where staff narrowly avoided injury at the hands of a patient, including one in which a man tried to use a metal object to smash a glass door. More than 3000 hospital workers are physically or verbally assaulted by patients or visitors each year, according to Health Minister Cameron Dick.
