NEWS-HR

Two staff have been arrested in a joint police and hospital sting for allegedly stealing prescription drugs. The pair face charges relating to the theft of a large amount of prescription anaesthetics from a secure area. The police said it appeared one of the staff was stealing the drugs so the other could use them, and both were fully aware of their roles during the theft.

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.