NSW Labor is calling on the government to conduct a full independent and transparent audit of the mental health facilities at Shellharbour Hospital.
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Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Tara Moriarty joined Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson outside the hospital on Thursday to outline their concerns.
The duo called on the Minister for Mental Health to address the closure of mental health beds at Shellharbour Hospital since November 2019.
Five mental health beds were closed at the Eloura Mental Health Unit in November due to staff shortages.
Further beds were closed temporarily in the Mirrabook Mental Health Unit due to staff shortages.
"it is unacceptable that these beds are still closed. We need the Minister for Mental Health to address this issue and fix this as a matter of urgency," Ms Moriarty said.
"We first and foremost must ensure staff and patient safety. If someone is seeking help, we must ensure the appropriate services are available to support them."
Ms Watson said there were also issues around processes and bullying of staff.
"I understand 62 per cent of people who work in the mental health unit at Shellharbour Hospital have said that they have been the victims of bullying from upper management," she said.
"That is unacceptable when their own processes are completely off tilt. They were recently issued with an improvement notice from SafeWork for their own processes." Ms Watson pointed to previous Mercury articles to also highlight the fear many staff at Shellharbour Hospital feel following multiple attacks.
We've seen multiple assaults at this mental health unit.
- Shellharbour MP Anna Watson
"We've seen multiple assaults at this mental health unit," she said. "Mental health staff are saying to me that they feel they are doing a similar job to police, having to deal with dangerous, unpredictable criminals. That's not their job. You don't want to come to work everyday where you fear for your life everyday."
She added it didn't help matters that two highly trained clinical nurses who are experts in dealing with mental health, are off work due to investigations even though they have been cleared by the Nursing and Midwife Association.
"Why is management dragging their feet. Let these two amazing clinical nurses do their job," she said.
ISLHD responds to hospital concerns
It wasn't only politicians voicing their concerns about mental health services at Shellharbour Hospital on Thursday.
Nearby residents worried about the future of the hospital and whether the proposed multi-million dollar redevelopment would proceed.
The Mercury understands a decision is still pending on whether the project will proceed on the current site - or whether the entire hospital will move to a new site.
But most interest on Thursday was NSW Labor calls for the government to conduct a full independent and transparent audit of the mental health facilities at Shellharbour Hospital.
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District's mental health director Julie Carter said the service was committed to providing the best possible environment for its staff and consumers and was continually working on initiatives that improve care and safety within the unit.
"Whilst the District is unable to comment on individual investigations, claims that staff who have been cleared of any wrongdoing are prevented from returning to work are false," Ms Carter said. "We are proud of our staff for improving the standard of care and holding themselves and others to account to ensure we continue to provide the best environment for our consumers.
"In response to a SafeWork Improvement Notice, the District is reviewing whether opportunities exist to better support and keep staff informed whilst they are being investigated. The District has until March 2020 to implement these improvements.
"Working in partnership with SafeWork NSW, significant change has also been implemented over the past 18 months in the areas of safety culture, staff safety representation, policies and procedures. A regular safety meeting attended by the Nurse and Midwives Association has been established to ensure ongoing improvement in staff and consumer safety."
ISLHD has also recruited additional staff to manage workforce gaps in its busy Mental Health Service.
"To ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and consumers, the unit has been temporarily reconfigured to assist in providing appropriate staffing. Five beds remain closed across the unit however the service is managing demand within the unit," Ms Carter said.
"When we are again fully staffed, the Mental Health unit at Shellharbour Hospital will return to its original configuration."
She added the 2019-20 budget for Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District was more than $998 million. This is an increase of over $40 million on the previous year's budget.
"The Illawarra Shoalhaven will also benefit from the NSW Government's $2.8 billion commitment to recruit a record 8300 frontline health staff over the next term, including 5000 additional nurses and midwives. From 2012 - 2019 the ISLHD increased its workforce by an additional 1080 full time equivalent staff - an increase of 23.1 per cent including 157 more doctors, 428 more nurses and midwives, and 114 more allied health staff."