NEWS-HR

Baptistcare Inc will be defending an s.394 (application for unfair dismissal remedy) from an ex-employee (Anderson) before Fair Work Commissioner Williams in Perth today.

An audit into snooping behaviour by prying staff has resulted in multiple dismissals. Former nurse Elizabeth Raju was sacked after an audit revealed a breach of patient confidentiality and was censured. Now it has been revealed that three other staff have been dismissed following an audit.

Every health service and hospital in Queensland has been told to check it does not have fake or fraudulent staff lurking in its midst. Health Minister Cameron Dick warned that while there was quick and decisive action in regard to alleged fake Aurukun nurse Nicholas Crawford, he could not ensure such a scenario wouold not play out again. Mr Crawford, 33, is facing 115 charges relating to alleged medical mistreatment while he posed as a nurse at the Aurukun Primary Health Care for about eight weeks.

Ten Burnside Hospital patients have been struck down with the potentially deadly infection salmonella from food consumed at the hospital. The hospital’s chief executive officer, Heather Messenger, sent a letter to all patients admitted to the hospital in the past six weeks to inform them of their “potential exposure”.

Nardy House has irritated a staffer (Perry) into lodging an s.739 (application to deal with a dispute) with the Fair Work Commission in Sydney.

Former union boss Craig Thomson is facing financial penalties after the Federal Court ruled he did pay for escorts and political campaign activities with Health Services Union money. The Fair Work Commission sued Thomson, seeking penalties and for compensation to be paid to the HSU, for transactions he charged to the union between 2003 and 2007. Justice Christopher Jessup has found Thomson did improperly use HSU money during his time as secretary. Thomson did not defend against the workplace relations tribunal’s claim.

An application by Netherlands Australian Aged Services Association Inc is being reviewed by Commissioner Hampton in Adelaide.

Spotless Management Services Pty Ltd must now deal with an unfair dismissal claim from an ex-employee (Simonovic).