A Victorian woman has been stood down from a job in the state department that cares for vulnerable children after being charged over allegations of historical child abuse. The charges stem from an allegation in 1996 that the woman, then a youth detention officer, molested a 16-year-old boy at the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson did not give details but said the matter was investigated by the department in 1996, and referred to Victoria Police at the time. “The department understands that Victoria Police has recently laid charges and as a result the worker was immediately stood down, ” the statement said. The department will not comment further as the matter is before the courts.
September 5, 2016
The Health Services Union and the Department of Health and Human Services are trading arguments in a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) before Commissioner Cribb in Conference Rooms E & F – Level 6 in Melbourne.
September 5, 2016
An inquest into the death of a patient who fell in Royal Darwin Hospital emergency ward found overcrowding played a part in his death. Kerry Murphy, 73, fell on his way to the Emergency Department bathroom in July 2014, where he was being treated because every other bed in the hospital was full. Mr Murphy, a retired dairy farmer, lumberjack and soldier was admitted after a dizzy spell at home and was being treated for pneumonia. The inquest heard Mr Murphy was “double bunked” in an “overcrowded” Emergency Department, where nurses were dealing with more patients than usual. Coroner Greg Cavanagh said without the overcrowding Mr Murphy would most likely have been placed on a ward. “Over-crowding of the hospital during that time was obviously a contributor to the fall,” he said. “But for overcrowding he would have likely been on the medical ward and assessed for his falls risk and the appropriate mitigation strategies put in place.” The inquest heard RDH had since implemented a falls risk policy and increased capacity in its emergency department by 13 beds a day. Coroner Greg Cavanagh recommended in his findings that RDH continue to review its falls policy and improve communication between medical staff at shift changes. “I therefore recommend that Royal Darwin Hospital ensure through continued education and audit that the Falls Risk Policy is appropriately used in the Emergency Department,”’ he said. “I also recommend that handovers (both nursing and medical) and transfers to Darwin Private Hospital continue to be audited to ensure those systems are functioning in the intended manner. “ Mr Cavanagh said RDH had indicated changes had been put in place to address the issues outlined in the inquest. “In this case the Royal Darwin Hospital has presented significant evidence that they have made or were making changes to their policies, processes and procedures to ensure that the failures identified were less likely to reoccur in the future. “Those changes however were not well embedded into the hospital systems by the date of hearing.
September 5, 2016
The New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association and BUPA Care Services Pty Limited are deadlocked in a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) before Commissioner Johns.
September 5, 2016
A union branch previously linked to Kathy Jackson has posted a $2.1 million turnaround, latest financial records show. It comes days after Ms Jackson was charged with 70 criminal counts over allegations she stole nearly $1 million from the Health Services Union in Victoria. The HSU Victoria No. 1 branch, which was previously controlled by Ms Jackson’s former husband, Jeff Jackson, has nearly doubled its membership to 13,000 since her allies lost control of the branch in 2012. Current branch secretary Diana Asmar said the union was now “back on its feet”. “The union was a mess. On the first day on the job, I was greeted by a mountain of shredded documents,” Ms Asmar said. “The union was left in bad shape. We had a $3 million debt that we were paying interest on. There were 450 expired or lapsed workplace agreements collecting dust. We’d shrunk to just 7000 financial members. “In just under four years, we’ve completely turned it around. The union has cleared this $3 million debt. We own our offices outright. Our finances are back on track.” The branch, which trades as the Health Workers Union, will post a surplus of $451,866 for 2015-16. This comes after suffering a loss of more than $1.6 million the previous year. The No. 1 branch will be voting to accept the latest financial statement at a meeting today.
September 5, 2016
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and Eastern Health (s.739 – Application to deal with a dispute) will be debating in front of Commissioner Cribb in Conference Rooms E & F – Level 6 in Melbourne today.
September 5, 2016
An application for approval of the Mercy Community Services Inc Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2016 (s.185 – Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement) is being mulled by Commissioner Lee in the privacy of his Melbourne chambers.
September 5, 2016
Disability Services Australia Limited is defending a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) brought on by ex-staffer Spencer before Deputy President Sams in Hearing Room 14-2 – Level 14 in Sydney.
