The Nepean Hospital lockdown on Wednesday is the latest incident in a series of security scares at NSW hospitals following the release of a damning report of violence against hospital workers. The incident at Nepean on Wednesday morning forced patients, visitors and staff in the emergency department to move from the area for almost three hours, a spokesperson for the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District said. Paramedics avoided the major trauma centre, transporting patients to hospitals further afield before Nepean was reopened in the early afternoon. NSW police said the hospital was closed “as a precaution”. In October last year, a man was shot and tasered by police after he brandished two knives outside Nepean Hospital. Wednesday’s lockdown comes less than a month after a violent incident at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital where a 29-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly stabbing a 45-year-old man in the back in the triage area of the inner-Sydney hospital’s emergency department. At Lismore Hospital in November, a woman allegedly stabbed a man with a syringe and in August at Blacktown Hospital a male patient allegedly stabbed a nurse repeatedly with two knives. The series of violent events prompted the NSW government to launch a review into the safety of staff, patients and visitors at the state’s public hospitals. The Health Services Union (HSU) NSW has repeatedly called for an extra 250 security guards at NSW hospitals, working in pairs, who would have the power to detain and retain.
February 21, 2019
A record number of South Australian paramedics are under investigation following a spike in adverse outcomes, including death, stemming from their decisions not to transport a patient to hospital. In the first calendar year since the $2.4 billion Royal Adelaide Hospital opened, up to 20 “adverse events” were identified, up from about a handful in previous years, according to sources within SA Ambulance Service. In correspondence circulated to paramedics, SAAS management said there was “a large and renewed focus on non-transport decisions as a result of a number of adverse events” that had resulted in deaths. Each event is being investigated, with “absent, poor or incomplete patient assessment and observations” a common theme, according to internal documents. It is unclear how many cases have involved a person’s death. “A preliminary review of these cases indicates there was often a lack of appreciation of the clinical risk associated with the patient’s presentation,” an SAAS memo to staff on December 20 said. The same document, issued by SAAS’s executive director of clinical performance and patient safety, Keith Driscoll, acknowledged that “system-based distractions such as ramping” had upped pressure on paramedics. “However, it is vitally important that we remain focused on providing the safest possible care,” he said. “We have a responsibility to contribute towards addressing this concerning trend in adverse patient outcomes.” Ramping — a term used when an ambulance is parked outside a hospital because there are no free beds to treat a transported patient — has been rife at the RAH since it opened in September 2017. The problem is not isolated to the RAH, with one woman developing bed sores after being ramped at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide’s south for eight hours on Monday. Ambulance union boss Phil Palmer said his members were “furious” at the extent of ramping that occurred within a system crippled by a lack of capacity. Mr Palmer conceded last year’s rise in adverse outcomes, but said a lack of resources rather than incompetence was behind the problem, which had coincided with a decline in quality assurance and clinical support for paramedics. “We said this pressure-cooker environment would cause mistakes … it’s a human thing,” Mr Palmer said. “There’s absolutely no doubt this whole issue with workload and ramping has already led to adverse incidents and will undoubtedly lead to others. “It’s a failure of the system, it’s not a failure of the individual.” Following Mr Driscoll’s memo to staff, SAAS team leaders held one-on-one meetings with paramedics. The service’s “treat no transport” guidelines were also updated. One paramedic welcomed the focus on education, but questioned whether it was a “box-ticking” exercise by bureaucrats. The same paramedic said some within the service had ignored protocol requiring them to call for clinical assistance when assessing a patient.
February 20, 2019
Baptist Care (SA) Inc has a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) which it must address today before Deputy President Anderson in his SA chambers (Belbridge).
February 20, 2019
Budhwar & Noronha Dental Pty Ltd atf Budhwar & Noronha Unit Trust will make out its argument this morning before Deputy President Hamilton in Court 3 – Level 6 and in Melbourne (Hodgetts).
February 20, 2019
Latrobe Regional Hospital has a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) to defend in front of Commissioner Cirkovic in the Magistrates Court Commercial Road Morwell today (Scott).
February 20, 2019
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation and Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association have a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) being heard at 2pm before Fair Work Commissioner Gregory in Court 5 – Level 6 and Conference Room D – Level 6 in Melbourne.
February 20, 2019
Vivability Inc has a s.372 (Application to deal with other contravention disputes) with which it must deal before Fair Work Vice President Catanzariti in his Sydney chambers today (Clayton).
February 20, 2019
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane will deal with a s.365 (Application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal) in front of Fair Work Deputy President Lake in his NSW chambers (De Maria).
