Presbyterian Aged Care is in dispute with a staff member (Wu) and Fair Work has been called upon to adjudicate (s.372).
January 21, 2016
More than 40 per cent of nursing graduates who applied for jobs in WA public hospitals this year have missed out. WA Health Department figures show 53 fewer nursing graduate positions in hospitals compared with last year. Last year, 1040 graduate nurses applied for 618 placements starting this year — 59 per cent finding jobs. In the previous year, 1067 graduates applied, with 671 of them finding positions.
January 21, 2016
Queensland’s corruption watchdog has launched an investigation into recruitment processes at the state’s health body. Queensland Health had notified the Crime and Corruption Commission about allegations of corrupt conduct relating to recruitment processes in December 2015.
January 21, 2016
Unions and the Tasmanian Government are at loggerheads over the best way to curb a growing number of assaults against health workers. The Health and Community Services Union wants more action to prevent workers becoming “punching bags”. Three staff were assaulted in a serious incident at the Royal Hobart Hospital last week.
January 21, 2016
An application for approval of the UnitingCare Community Transport and Distribution Enterprise Agreement 2015 will be considered by Fair Work Deputy President Asbury in Brisbane.
January 20, 2016
Karingal Inc is in the second day of its defence of a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal work) lodged by an ex-staffer (Carroll). The matter is before Fair Work Commissioner Cirkovic in Melbourne.
January 19, 2016
A nurse who died in a head-on crash while transporting a patient during an emergency made a driver error and fatigue was unlikely to have been a factor, a West Australian coroner has found. Gonda Alexandra Smith was a remote area nurse at a clinic in Nullagine, in the state’s Pilbara region, in July 2012 when the accident happened. Coroner Sarah Linton said while fatigue could not be entirely eliminated as a contributing factor to the collision, the evidence generally suggested it was unlikely. She found the major contributing factor to the crash was Ms Smith’s decision to drive centrally in the road over a crest. “If fatigue played a part in her decision to do so, it would appear to have been a minor one,” she said. “The evidence more strongly supports the conclusion that she did so because this was her customary manner of driving, based upon her experience in driving in such road conditions, and she did not anticipate encountering any traffic at that time of night in that remote area.” By all accounts, Ms Smith was a skilled, diligent and conscientious nurse, the coroner said. “The circumstances of the deceased’s death reflect her willingness to go above and beyond to help others,” she said. Ms Linton said Main Roads WA had taken the few steps possible to improve the road surrounding the crest to reduce the likelihood of a similar collision occurring.
January 19, 2016
Eastern Health has a dual challenge (s.365/s.372) instigated by a staffer (Kanyua).
