Labor's health spokesman Ryan Park is supporting Illawarra hospital workers joining statewide industrial action on Thursday over fears about workplace safety.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than 500 security, cleaning, catering, allied health and administration staff at hospitals across the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District will stop work from 10am to 2pm.
Many of the region's paramedics will also take part in the action, although rather than striking they will not be collecting billing information for patients in those four hours.
Across the state more than 22,000 Health Services Union (HSU) members will hold four-hour stoppages across the day due to concerns about escalating violence in hospitals.
"This is action that's unfortunately necessary because the NSW Government has failed to look after the safety of thousands of health workers," Mr Park said.
"They've been calling for additional security staff, for improved training, and for stronger legislation to give security personnel powers to detain those people causing serious problems in our hospitals.
"It's clear hospitals have changed very much over the last 10 to 15 years. Years ago there was a flood of heroin - today people are presenting to emergency departments under the influence of ice, which is a very different drug, and harder to manage."
The Keira MP said the government had had plenty of opportunities to avert strike action, by implementing some of the basic reforms put forward by the union.
Wollongong MP Paul Scully also added his support to the industrial campaign by HSU members.
"There's an increasing trend towards violence in our hospital system that must be addressed to ensure the safety of staff, patients and visitors," he said.
"Meantime the range of attacks seen on staff has become both more frequent and more violent and that's across the state - although we've had our own instances in the Illawarra of attacks on paramedics, nurses and other hospital staff.
"Health and hospital staff do a great job, and they don't deserve to be treated like punching bags."
HSU NSW secretary Gerard Hayes confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the statewide action would go ahead, despite some progress with the NSW Ministry of Health.
"We've been meeting with the Ministry of Health in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission for over a week," he said.
"We've been promoting a trial of a security program that would need more resources; it would be a proactive security program and ideally it would intervene early and stop issues occurring.
"The ministry has agreed at Gosford and Wyong hospitals to employ an extra 15 people to engage that program, and that would run concurrently with the Peter Anderson (security) review."
However Mr Hayes said while this was a "a step in the direction", it was "not the end game".
"This a welcome first step and will be communicated to members across the state at hospital rallies (on Thursday). However, action will proceed in every major hospital across NSW."
Nurses and doctors are not taking part in the action but their unions - the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association and ASMOF - have offered their support.
Mr Hayes said hospitals would have "skeleton teams" of support workers in place to ensure patients were looked after, but said there would be some delays in services.
"Forty people a month are seriously assaulted in hospitals going to work, we can not entertain workplace violence," Mr Hayes said.
"We have had two of our members stabbed, it's just unacceptable. We're seeing nurses stabbed, we're seeing doctors stabbed ... everyone has the right to a safe workplace."
He said the strike was "an unfortunate but necessary last resort".
"We have argued, lobbied and advocated for change for years, but our pleas continue to fall on deaf ears."
A NSW Health spokesperson said local health districts would have processes in place to "minimise any disruption to services" as a result of any industrial activity.
"NSW Health remains committed to addressing security issues with its workforce and ensuring that our hospitals are safe and welcoming places for our staff, patients and visitors," the spokesperson said.
"For this reason, an agreement was reached in the IRC earlier (on Wednesday) to avert tomorrow's proposed HSU strike action.
"It was agreed the HSU would hold report back meetings for its members on 1 August to pass on news of this agreement. HSU were to use its best endeavours to limit the meetings to 30 minutes in duration.
"However, the HSU has continued to promote the industrial action and therefore NSW Health has again sought the assistance of the Industrial Relations Commission to resolve this issue.
"It is disappointing that the HSU has not acted consistently with the agreement reached in the IRC earlier today, which reflected the interests of both parties."
