A woman who worked as a carer in Ipswich and claimed she was attacked and beaten by a female co-worker has taken her case to Queensland’s highest court to determine whether her employer breached its duty. Court documents say the woman, now aged 56, received physical and psychiatric injuries following the alleged attack that occurred while she and the co-worker were changing shifts in December 2009. They cared for the same person who had a disability. The woman took legal action against her employer, UnitingCare Community, which traded as Lifeline Community Care Queensland, claiming it breached its duty because it rostered both women on consecutive shifts, causing them to cross paths, despite the woman having previously complained about the co-worker’s alleged harassing behaviour. The woman claimed she had told her supervisor of four incidents where the co-worker had allegedly assaulted and physically obstructed her, including poking her in the back with a broom and grabbing her wrists. She also claimed she had given her supervisor a letter expressing her concerns and asked that she and the co-worker be kept apart. UnitingCare Community denied the supervisor was told about the four incidents and denied that the supervisor was handed the letter. Earlier this year, a district court judge dismissed the woman’s case and found that UnitingCare Community did not breach a duty. The judge found the woman did give her supervisor the letter but he said this letter did not imply a risk that the co-worker would assault her. The judge also said the four incidents were not mentioned until the trial and that the woman did not raise them in her letter and did not tell medical experts. He said her failure to mention them meant she did not infer a risk of violence from her co-worker. The woman has taken this judge’s decision to the Queensland Court of Appeal and on Tuesday her barrister Wallace Campbell said the judge made an error because the woman’s letter clearly showed she was fearful. Barrister Richard Moreton, acting for UnitingCare, disagreed, saying that just because two employees had a “shouting match” or disagreement did not automatically mean it would lead to a physical assault. The Queensland Court of Appeal will hand down its findings at a future date.
August 18, 2016
The New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association and Wesley Hospital Ashfield are involved in a s.739 (application to deal with a dispute) before Commissioner Johns in his Sydney chambers.
August 18, 2016
An application for approval of the Victorian Stand Alone Community Health General Dentists Multi-Employer Enterprise Agreement 2015-2017 (s.185 – application for approval of a multi-enterprise agreement) is being reviewed by Commissioner Cribb.
August 18, 2016
A nurse accessed patient records including those of her friends, family and colleagues, despite none being under her care, a tribunal has heard. The woman, who has permanent name suppression, was a nurse in a North Island health service centre between November 2011 to May 2014 where she inappropriately accessed and viewed 64 patients on 114 occasions. She appeared at the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in Wellington yesterday. When the nurse worked at the health service centre, she had access to patient information through a computer system. Every time an employee logged into the system, a warning about patient confidentiality would appear. However the nurse continued to peek into patient records of people she knew or recognised – including friends, family, colleagues and colleagues’ family members, the tribunal heard. She looked at one patient’s information 17 times.
August 18, 2016
An application by Blackall Range Care Group Inc (s.222 – application for approval of a termination of an enterprise agreement) will be decided by Commissioner Booth in his Brisbane chambers.
August 18, 2016
A coronial inquest into the death of a 33-year-old after he was given painkillers in a Brisbane hospital has heard there were inconsistencies in nurses’ records about how much pain he was in. Michael Calder died at the Holy Spirit Northside Private Hospital at Chermside on Brisbane’s northside on July 11, 2014. The father of three had been admitted with a severe headache and was given a mixture of morphine and oxycontin. Sarah Atkinson, from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, who is representing Mr Calder’s family at this week’s inquest, said he was found collapsed three days after being admitted and could not be revived. She said an autopsy later found he had lethal levels of morphine in his blood.
August 18, 2016
The Department of Health and Human Services has a s.372 (application to deal with other contravention disputes) with which it must deal (Corral).
August 18, 2016
Staff at Albany’s public hospital have avoided serious consequences after confidential patient information was found by a member of the public in the building’s courtyard. A double-sided paper document listing the personal details of 11 mental health patients, their reason for admission and their risk factors was found in the courtyard of the Albany Health Campus in June. The woman who found the document took it to local Albany MLA Peter Watson’s office who in turn released it to the media. The WA Country Heath Service (WACHS) has now completed an internal review into the incident and said it was very concerned the breach had occurred.
