NEWS-HR

A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Child and Family Services Ballarat Inc T/A CAFS for its Child and Family Services Ballarat Inc Enterprise Agreement 2017 has been approved by Fair Work Commissioner Saunders sitting in Newcastle on 27 April 2018.

The Mental Health Tribunal is set to defend a s.372 (Application to deal with other contravention disputes) launched by a staffer (Cameron).

Jewish Care (Victoria) Inc is up against a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) before Fair Work Deputy President Clancy in Court 4 – Level 6 and Conference Room C – Level 6 in Melbourne (Kofmansky).

An application for approval of the Named NSW (Non-Declared) Affiliated Health Organisations’ Nurses Agreement 2017 (s.185 – Application for approval of a multi-enterprise agreement) will be heard by Fair Work Deputy President Sams in Hearing Room 14-1 – Level 14 in Sydney at 11.30am.

The Department of Human Services Centrelink is up against a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) before Deputy President Sams in Hearing Room 14-1 – Level 14 in Sydney (Wahid).

A mental health nurse who dished out a strong, unprescribed sedative to acute teenage inpatients, including one addicted to drugs, has been banned from practising. A tribunal on Tuesday found Kevin Lloyd Picones, 27, raided hospital supplies to provide Phenergan – an antihistamine with sedative effects – to three teenagers while working as a registered nurse at a child and adolescent mental health unit in a regional NSW city.

Doutta Galla Aged Services Ltd is facing a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) before Fair Work Deputy President Masson in his Melbourne chambers (Sharma).

An Adelaide aged care worker, accused of bashing a patient in 2015, is now employed by a different nursing home — prompting a court to order he be chaperoned at all times. The Adelaide Magistrates Court took action after learning Michael Andrew Mullen had been hired by aged care provider Helping Hand. Mark Griffin, QC, for Mullen, wanted that company’s name suppressed but failed after the media successfully fought his application. He told Magistrate Elizabeth Sheppard that Mullen was being “effectively chaperoned” and was not allowed to attend to patients on his own. But prosecutor Patrick Hill said the current arrangement was not “one-on-one” supervision and asked he have a bail condition in place banning him from his workplace. “In light of the allegations themselves, there will be unnecessary risk to residents at any other aged care facility that the accused might be working,” he said. He said there had been other complaints made against Mullen in other nursing homes — two of which were substantiated and resulted in formal warnings. But Mr Griffin said the prosecution wanted to have Mullen banned from his own employment despite the supervision measures in place. To ensure he would not be alone with patients, Ms Sheppard placed Mullen on bail and made it a condition he be supervised by another care assistant or nurse at all times when dealing with residents. “I’m sceptical about whether a care facility can impose that given we hear they’re so short staffed,” she said. “I want to be assured that if they’re running short staffed he’s not left to his own devices. “We’ll have an inquiry as to whether it is being followed up.” The assault charge has previously been withdrawn by police but was re-laid last August. Mullen is accused of assaulting Elizabeth “Libby” Hannaford, who was 72 at the time, at Southern Cross Care’s Lourdes Valley Residential Care Centre on November 19, 2015. She died at the Repatriation General Hospital in February 2016. Mr Hill said Mullen was on night shift and the only carer to attend to Mrs Hannaford before she was found the next morning with swelling and bruising to her face. He said the sensor mats around her bed had not been triggered, which meant to likelihood of her sustaining the injuries from a fall were “remote”. The court was told the patient in the next bed heard Mullen yell at Mrs Hannaford because she kept pulling out tubes. “She heard him threaten her by saying, ‘if you don’t stop doing this and if I have to come back again, there will be consequences’,” he said. He said the other patient heard Mullen come storming back into the room, heard him hitting Mrs Hannaford repeatedly. The following morning, Mrs Hannaford told her GP that she had been lying in bed and was “thumped in the face”, he told the court. Coroner Mark Johns ordered an inquiry after learning that Ms Hannaford had been assaulted prior to her death — the hospital report made no mention of the attack. Mullen will reappear in court next month.