VIC:Thousands of Vic nurses poised to resign

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2011
VIC:Thousands of Vic nurses poised to resign

MELBOURNE, Dec 16 AAP - Thousands of Victorian nurses are poised to resign in an escalation
of their industrial dispute with the state government, the union says.

But Health Minister David Davis says it is a hollow threat from the Australian Nursing
Federation (ANF) that won't materialise.

A mass meeting of 1500 Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) members on Friday unanimously
voted in favour of the mass resignations, with nurses saying they were not prepared to
risk their registration or duty of care if there were no guarantees of minimum staffing
levels.

Resignations are expected from February 13 to March 31.

ANF Victoria branch secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said nurses could not safely care for
patients if staffing levels were too low and added that she anticipated thousands of nurses
would resign.

Ms Fitzpatrick said nurses would be sending their resignations to the ANF rather than
to hospitals.

"We would expect there will be thousands who will submit their resignations," she told
AAP after the meeting.

"They have been painted into a corner. This is not a stunt. This is not industrial
action. This is a considered and thoughtful approach."

Mr Davis said the mass resignations wouldn't happen.

"Nurses will not resign en masse, there may be some resignations, but not on the scale
that I think would impact the system," he told reporters.

"I'm not at all convinced that most nurses will obey the directions of the ANF.

"Most nurses will want to focus on their patients."

Mr Davis said he would have his department develop contingency plans in case thousands
of nurses did resign, but he refused to disclose what arrangements might be put in place.

Earlier this month, nurses opted not to resume bed closures and elective surgery cancellations,
following an order by Fair Work Australia to end their unprotected industrial action.

They have instead been staging rallies at hospitals in metropolitan and regional areas.

Ms Fitzpatrick said staffing levels were already low in rehabilitation, palliative
care and aged care.

"Nurses say they are not prepared to stay in a public health system where they can't
care safely for their patients," she said.

"They remember what it was like in the 1990s before we got patient ratios and that
is when they left.

"Lots came back when that changed. We are at a peak of 91,000 nurses in the state and
we are not prepared to go back."

There were other nursing jobs available if members left the public health service, she said.

"There are other opportunities in the private sector and in work agency nursing. I
would hope they don't leave the profession."

Mr Davis received an ANF petition about staffing levels with about 40,000 signatures
from members of the public.

"We know we have great support and we don't take that for granted. If you don't have
enough qualified nurses, there are serious outcomes," Ms Fitzpatrick said.

"Patients get pneumonia, sepsis, urinary tract infections, they suffer falls, mistakes
are made with medications and nurses end up in the coroner's court or before our regulatory
authority. It is an unfair amount of pressure."

Mr Davis said he was surprised and disappointed the ANF had voted for mass resignations
because conciliation talks were continuing at Fair Work Australia this month and into
January.

AAP mj/sn/wjf

KEYWORD: NURSES VIC WRAP

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.