Unions seek finer detail on Southern NSW Health District restructure

The Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) released its staff restructure this week, following a one-month consultation with staff and industrial bodies.

It also came after several Industrial Relations Commission hearings.

Chief executive Margaret Bennett said the restructure guaranteed there would be no forced redundancies.

"This new structure will best enable the SNSWLHD to meet the needs of the community we serve both now and into the future," she said in a statement.

"This also gives our staff certainty and direction given the restructure process started over four years ago."

READ MORE:

Southern NSW Health District announces staff restructure

Southern NSW Local Health District consults on staffing restructure

Ms Bennett said new positions, for which recruitment would soon start, were aimed at improving patient safety and quality of care. There would also be an increase in overall front line positions.

These include additional education roles to boost the number of graduate nurses.

"While the vast majority of our over 3000 staff are not impacted at all by the restructure, a small number of people in managerial and support functions are directly impacted," Ms Bennett said.

The Health Services Union (HSU) mounted a dispute against the Health District in the Industrial Relations Commission last month. Organiser Mark Jay said at two hearings on October 6 and 20, the Commissioner ordered both parties to have union specific consultative committee discussions.

"This was what was originally proposed (by the District) and was later denied," he told The Post.

"Over two weeks we engaged with members and gave a lot of feedback to the leadership team which was taken into consideration in the final version (of the restructure)."

ALSO READ: 'Don't let NSW do all the heavy lifting' Berejiklian urges other state premiers

The HSU strongly criticised the draft document saying it lacked detail, contained numerous errors, and gave no certainty for staff acting in positions for some time. Nor did it detail what would happen to staff whose positions were eliminated in 12 months.

Mr Jay said while changes were incorporated into the latest version, he was awaiting further feedback from members to decide on a way forward.

"We still have genuine concerns about the phasing out or elimination of positions," he said.

"They say they will be salary-maintained for 12 months but we want transparency on whether these roles will be lost...There needs to be a lot of work done on position descriptions and gradings."

Mr Jay said the Health District wanted to "push through" the restructure but he argued it was "putting the cart before the horse."

"It's a cost saving measure and they don't understand the impact it will have...They haven't really drilled down to the coalface. We don't want any negative impacts on patient care," he said.

ALSO READ: Guitar royalty, Bruce Mathiske, comes to town this Friday for concert and workshop

Ms Bennett said the District would reallocate and support impacted employees to move to other "meaningful roles", and take up vacancies as they become available over the next year.

"To the greatest extent possible, all of these staff will be matched into like positions. Under the new structure all impacted staff will be given options to remain employed in our organisation," she said.

Meantime, NSW Nurses and Midwives Association organiser for Goulburn, Matt Doherty said his members were consulted from the start and gave thorough feedback.

"Management took that on board and changed the structure to recognise award requirements," he said.

"We are not completely happy but are glad they've made the changes we requested."

These included nurse unit management positions for smaller sites. Mr Doherty said the restructure mainly focused on upper managerial roles and little had changed in regard to nurses. Above them sits a director of nursing, deputy director of nursing and a patient flow nurse manager.

The Association will press the need for those acting in positions for some time to be considered as preferred candidates for those roles

ALSO READ: Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Regular mammograms can save lives

Further consultation with members will occur in coming weeks. Mr Doherty urged potentially affected members to contact the Association.

"Our members have been waiting four years for this restructure," he said.

"It's not absolutely perfect but it's potentially a good starting point.

Ms Bennett said the District held 43 meetings, both in person, and online, during the consultation, which garnered 982 responses.

"I'd like to thank everyone who took part in the process, including the industrial bodies for their suggestions and contributions to the final structure," Ms Bennett said.

"The District can now get on with implementation, with the aim of having it all in place by Christmas, to provide our staff with certainty as we begin the New Year."

We care about what you think. Have your say in the form below and if you love local news don't forget to subscribe.