lamp THE MAGAZINE OF THE NSW NURSES AND MIDWIVES’ ASSOCIATION
VOLUME 73 No.9 OCTOBER 2016
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COVER STORY
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2 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
CONTENTS
CONTACTS NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association For all membership enquiries and assistance, including Lamp subscriptions and change of address, contact our Sydney office. Sydney Office 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017 (all correspondence) T 8595 1234 (metro) 1300 367 962 (non-metro) F 9662 1414 E gensec@nswnma.asn.au W www.nswnma.asn.au
VOLUME 73 No.9 OCTOBER 2016
Hunter Office 8-14 Telford Street, Newcastle East NSW 2300
COVER STORY
12 | Five more public hospitals to be privatised NSWNMA vows to oppose Coalition’s latest privatisation push.
NSWNMA Communications Manager Janaki Chellam-Rajendra T 1300 367 962 For all editorial enquiries letters and diary dates T 8595 1234 E lamp@nswnma.asn.au M 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017 Produced by Hester Communications T 9568 3148 Press Releases Send your press releases to: F 9662 1414 E gensec@nswnma.asn.au
Craig Gross, RN and Pat Illingworth, CNE from Wyong Hospital PHOTOGRAPH: SHARON HICKEY
REGULARS 5 6 8 33 35 39 41 43 45 46
PEOPLE’S INQUIRY
16 | Privatisation in the dock
Editorial Your letters News in brief Ask Judith Social media National Work Safety Month Crossword Books Movie of the month Diary dates
A national inquiry is underway to gauge the extent and effects of privatisation – and to put forward alternatives that protect public services.
PEOPLE’S INQUIRY
HEALTH AND INEQUALITY
WIN
18 | Sell off to hit chronically disabled
22 | Inequality is a big deal
The quality of life of chronically disabled people with life-threatening illnesses will quickly decline once state-run disability services are privatised.
Inequality impacts greatly on people’s health and drags down economic growth.
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HEALTH AND INEQUALITY
24 | Fake economics Economic language isn’t used to help, inform or educate the public but to silence it argues Richard Denniss.
Editorial Committee • Brett Holmes, NSWNMA General Secretary • Judith Kiejda, NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary • Coral Levett, NSWNMA President • Peg Hibbert, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital • Michelle Cashman, Long Jetty Continuing Care • Richard Noort, Justice Health Advertising Danielle Nicholson T 8595 2139 or 0429 269 750 F 9662 1414 E dnicholson@nswnma.asn.au Information and Records Management Centre To find archived articles from The Lamp, or to borrow from the NSWNMA nursing and health collection, contact: Jeannette Bromfield, Coordinator T 8595 2175 E gensec@nswnma.asn.au The Lamp ISSN: 0047-3936 General disclaimer The Lamp is the official magazine of the NSWNMA. Views expressed in articles are contributors’ own and not necessarily those of the NSWNMA. Statements of fact are believed to be true, but no legal responsibility is accepted for them. All material appearing in The Lamp is covered by copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission. The NSWNMA takes no responsibility for the advertising appearing herein and it does not necessarily endorse any products advertised. Privacy Privacy statement: The NSWNMA collects personal information from members in order to perform our role of representing their industrial and professional interests. We place great emphasis on maintaining and enhancing the privacy and security of your personal information. Personal information is protected under law and can only be released to someone else where the law requires or where you give permission. If you have concerns about your personal information please contact the NSWNMA office. If you are still not satisfied that your privacy is being maintained, you can contact the Privacy Commission. Subscriptions for 2016 Free to all Association members. Professional members can subscribe to the magazine at a reduced rate of $30. Individuals $80, Institutions $135, Overseas $145.
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Average Net Distribution per issue. The Lamp is independently under the AMAA's CAB Total Distribution Audit. Yearly Audit for the period: 01/04/2015 - 31/03/2016
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EDITORIAL BY BRETT HOLMES, GENERAL SECRETARY
A brutal blow to the bush The state government’s announcement that it will privatise five regional hospitals is a massive escalation of a policy that has little public support and is questioned by many economists. Regional communities have a genuine need for new facilities to replace their aged public hospitals. Premier Mike Baird and his Liberal National Government have taken advantage of this to substantially expand their drive towards private health companies delivering our public health services at taxpayers’ expense. Communities are lulled into a sense that they will get a wonderful new hospital and if they are a public patient they will still get free health care. Private, often multinational operators, promise the Government that they will deliver the care to patients at a cheaper cost. At the same time they promise their shareholders and owners that they will deliver a profit. Mike Baird and his government think that is a win-win, but we know the real losers are patients and staff. The announcement to privatise these five regional hospitals came without prior warning, consultation or any semblance of public debate. There needs to be a well informed public debate before we take the path to the Americanisation of our health system. And people should be allowed to vote on it. The Premier has shown his true colours. During the last State election he ridiculed the NSWNMA TV ads that warned voters he planned to privatise public health services. He said they were a dishonest attempt to scare people. Well, who now is ‘the liar, liar with their pants on fire’ as the Association was described at the time? And now his health minister, Jillian Skinner, has proclaimed that hospitals at Maitland, Wyong, Goulburn, Shellharbour and Bowral are to be handed over to the private sector. Curiously, she has promised that if the private operators don’t want them she still has the money to redevelop
“Moves to undermine redundancy entitlements have been going on in parallel to the preparations to sell off the hospitals. With alternative employment scarce in regional areas this will be devastating for those for whom there is ‘no equivalent job in a privately run hospital’.” them, but they won’t have the extra trimmings required of a private hospital. EVEN ECONOMISTS SAY PRIVATISATION DOESN’T WORK
For several decades most economists have supported privatisation and other key elements of neoliberalism that give free rein to market forces. But even within this conservative profession and from some business figures there have been radical changes in thinking about privatisation. One of the most striking aboutturns came from the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Rod Sims. Despite having been an advocate of privatisation for the past three decades he now says privatisation has become “severely damaging” for the Australian economy. University of Queensland economics professor John Quiggin says market reforms in the provision of human services like health have been “a string of failed experiments”.
The NSWNMA has joined with other public sector unions to add our voice to this growing critique with our participation in the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation (see pp 16-21). The inquiry has set out to gauge the impact of privatisation and to further a public conversation about alternatives by starting with the premise that public services are to serve people and their communities. PATIENTS AND NURSES WILL BE HURT BY THESE HOSPITAL SELL OFFS
The most damning aspect of these new privatisations will be the impact on patient care and safety as we continue to stumble down the path towards an American model of healthcare. Nurse-to-patient ratios will be under threat as no major private operator has ever agreed to them in NSW. There is a mountain of empirical evidence that show fewer nurses to patients will adversely impact on patient care and safety. Nurses working conditions will also be under threat. The health minister has said only permanent staff will be offered a position if an equivalent job exists. Moves to undermine redundancy entitlements have been going on in parallel to the preparations to sell off the hospitals. With alternative employment scarce in regional areas this will be devastating for those for whom there is “no equivalent job in a privately run hospital”. The gifting of five regional hospitals to the private sector is a real threat to the long term delivery of public health services in regional communities. We do not believe that it is in the best interests of our members or their communities and we will fight the privatisations tooth and nail.
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 5
COVER STORY
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YOUR LETTERS
LE TTE R OF THE MONTH
Do no harm
A central tenet of health care is to do no harm, yet health’s consumption of plastic does just that. We need to reduce our plastic use and one obvious way is to stop supplying plastic bottles of water to patients. Other than neutropaenic patients, no one needs bottled water. The waste bottles last 1,000 years in the waste stream. Trucking tonnes of water hundreds of kilometres produces climate changing emissions. Moruya and Batemans Bay hospitals on the south coast are small hospitals yet use about 2000 bottles weekly. With 80 facilities across the Southern NSW LHD, the plastic bottle usage must be huge. The Eurobodalla Waste Management Committee (WMC) wants to contact all other WMCs in the SNSWLHD to create a LHD-wide response to plastic bottles. Please contact Chris Nimmo at chris.nimmo@gsahs.health. nsw.gov.au with your WMC contact. Chris Nimmo RN, Broulee
YOUR LETTERS
Goulburn says No to Baird’s garage sale At the end of last week I learnt from Jillian Skinner that my hospital is going to be sold off to the private sector. This is our local hospital, owned by the people of Goulburn and operated by the government for us - now up for sale. Our local member Pru Goward at the last election made a big deal about delivering a new hospital for Goulburn - nothing was said about a new private hospital for Goulburn and no public hospital. Yesterday we had a meeting of staff and management where we were told we would keep our jobs if an “equivalent” position existed! There would be no guarantees of ratios or skill mix, only that the Ministry would ensure that KPIs would be met not on a shift-by-shift basis though and not unless it served the interests of shareholders. Where is patient safety in all this? I know that there are wellrun private hospitals but Goulburn only has one hospital and it belongs to the people of NSW, not to a multinational company. You can’t say ‘oh I’ll just go and work at another hospital’. The closest is Bowral (also to be privatised) or Canberra - both an hour’s drive away! Not only that, but the inpatient Mental Health Facility could be included - they couldn’t say! Will our health service be run with untrained staff? The staff and Goulburn community take great pride in ‘the Base’ and the fine job they do in caring for the community - now it will be profit driven! This has brought immense job insecurity for the staff of Goulburn Health Service and uncertainty to the community of Goulburn. We were also told the Bourke St Health Service will close within 12 months - what is going to happen to the patients and staff? Bourke St relieved the pressures on beds at the Base - now we will have bed block to the detriment of the patients. Where will Oncology go? Goulburn does not deserve this! The government needs to understand that the people of Goulburn want to keep their assets, not sell them off in a massive statewide garage sale. Jane Cotter RN NP, Assistant Secretary Goulburn Branch, Berrima
Retired member activist I am a retired RN. I would like to join the Retired Member Activist Group as I feel very upset about what governments are doing and what nurses, ambos and the police have to put up with, especially violence in the workplace, shortage of staff and privatisation issues. I would like to try and stand up for all nurses, young and starting out, plus what I see as the devaluing of older staff. I still want to fight. Robert Southcombe RN, Cooranbong The Retired Member Activist Group (RMAG) began earlier this year. Membership is free and gives you The Lamp, access to Union Shopper, legal advice and special offers. Contact Membership on 8595 1234 or download the form at www.nswnma.asn.au Andrew Denton and assisted dying I commend Andrew Denton’s compassion and endurance to make a positive change that is so long overdue. Why can’t they just get this right? It’s not rocket science. I have nursed since 1968 and seen it all. Sometimes families are the worst dealing with ‘their loss’ and in their denial do not always consider the patient’s wishes. Oh what a contradiction we can be. Annie Rose RN (retired), Cheltenham Time to take on the government The headline of Saturday’s Illawarra Mercury was ‘Sold Out’ in regard to the potential selling-off of our local public hospital at Shellharbour. It stated that a “series of rallies and rolling stoppages will be held at Shellharbour Hospital and four other regional hospitals”. I think it is time that we as the NSWNMA take action against Ms Skinner and the Liberal government. The selling-off of these hospitals does not just affect the staff and patients but will have implications for all of us and our patients and residents in residential aged care. It is time for Ms Skinner to go. It seems she has no idea re the public health system or aged care. We need a Minister for Health who is sympathetic to our sick and vulnerable. The rallies and stoppages should be statewide with the support of HSU. Kim Foster CNS, Corrimal
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Tap dancing Had a fab night at Singin’ in the Rain [after winning tickets in the recent Nurse Uncut contest]. Thank you so much. Next thing is tap dancing lessons... Mary Perry RN, Glenfield
HAVE YOUR SAY Send your letters to: Editorial Enquiries email lamp@nswnma.asn.au fax 9662 1414 mail 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017.
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THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 7
NEWS BRIEF COVERINSTORY
United States
A chapter a day keeps the grim reaper away A new study finds that people who read for 30 minutes a day or more lived longer than those who don’t read at all. The study, published in the September issue of Social Science and Medicine, looked at the reading patterns of 3,635 people who were 50 or older. On average, book readers were found to live for almost two years longer than nonreaders. Respondents were divided into those who read for 3.5 hours or more a week, those who read for up to 3.5 hours a week, and those who didn’t read at all, controlling for factors such as gender, race and education. The study found that up to 12 years on, those who read for more than 3.5 hours a week were 23 per cent less likely to die, while those who read for up to 3.5 hours a week were 17 per cent less likely to die. The researchers, from the Yale University of Public Health, say that the more respondents read, the longer they lived, but that “as little as 30 minutes a day was still beneficial in terms of survival”. They also found that reading books provided a greater benefit than reading newspapers or magazines. “Cognitive engagement may explain why vocabulary, reasoning, concentration, and critical thinking skills are improved by exposure to books. Second, books can promote empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence, which are cognitive processes that can lead to greater survival,” they said.
“BOOKS CAN PROMOTE EMPATHY, SOCIAL PERCEPTION, AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, WHICH ARE COGNITIVE PROCESSES THAT CAN LEAD TO GREATER SURVIVAL.” Germany
Sleep resets the brain
“SLEEP IS A HIGHLY ACTIVE BRAIN PROCESS AND NOT A WASTE OF TIME. IT’S REQUIRED FOR HEALTHY BRAIN FUNCTION.” MORE ABOUT THE RESEARCH CAN BE FOUND AT: http://www.nature.com/ ncomms/2016/160823/ ncomms12455/full/ ncomms12455.html
8 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
A study that shows how a lack of sleep “muddles” neurons with electrical activity could contribute to treatments for depression. In the study from the University of Freiberg, researchers show for the first time that sleep resets the steady build-up of connectivity in the human brain that takes place in our waking hours. The process appears to be crucial for our brains to remember and learn so we can adapt to the world around us. The researchers found that the loss of a single night’s sleep was enough to block the brain’s natural reset mechanism. Deprived of sleep, the brain’s neurons became over-connected and muddled with electrical activity so new memories could not be properly laid down. Sleep allows the brain to wind down its activity, consolidate our memories, and be ready to start again the next morning. The scientists say their findings could lead to practical treatments for depression. “If you deprive people with major depression of sleep for one night, about 60 per cent show a substantial improvement in mood, motivation and cognitive function. We think it works by shifting these patients into a more favourable state,” said Christoph Nissen, a psychiatrist who led the study. “Why we sleep is a fundamental question. Why do we spend so much of our lives in this brain state? This work shows us that sleep is a highly active brain process and not a waste of time. It’s required for healthy brain function.”
Australia
Bulk billing costs $328 per person per year The cost of bulk billing to the Australian taxpayer has remained steady over the last decade despite a rise in bulk billing rates. Health experts have criticised the misleading use of bulk billing statistics, particularly during the federal election. During the election campaign the Coalition claimed that bulk billing rates had never been higher – up to 83 per cent - when it justified the freezing of the Medicare rebate. According to the President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Dr Frank Jones, this is a “misleading and dirty statistic”. What this statistic does not reveal says Dr Bastian Seidel, writing on the online health blog Croakey, is that the currently used bulk billing rate only reveals the proportion of all rendered services bulk billed, not patients. “These are patients with complex, chronic medical conditions who need to see their GP and other medical practitioners frequently, and therefore access services that attract a Medicare rebate much more often than others. On average, that patient population would receive at least 51 Medicare services per year,” he wrote. What the discussion should be about is the true cost of General Practice to the taxpayer, he says. “According to the 2016 Report on Government Services, the total expenditure by the Australian Government on all General Practice encounters, including the cost of Medicare Locals and Primary Health Networks as well as the Practice Incentives Programs, was $7.7 billion, which equals $328 per person per year. “That figure has remained steady over the last decade, irrespective of the ‘rise’ in bulk billing rates.”
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Better social services lead to better health A new American study shows that social service spending impacts significantly on health outcomes. The US findings are consistent with a European study (published in British Medical Journal March 2011), which found the ratio of social service spending to medical care spending was significantly associated with better health outcomes across 34 OECD countries between 2000 and 2005. The American study – from the Yale School of Public Health (published in Health Affairs August 2016) – found the same pattern within the United States: • When comparing state-to-state spending between 2000 and 2009, those states with higher ratios of social service spending to health care spending had better outcomes on average. The size of the health effects was substantial: a 20 per cent change in the median social-to-health spending ratio was equivalent to 85,000 fewer adults with obesity and more than 950,000 adults with mental illness. • Health outcomes for adult obesity, asthma, mentally unhealthy days, days of activity limitations and mortality rates from lung cancer, acute myocardial infarction and type 2 diabetes suggest that the allocation of spending, not just the total investment, may be key to improving health outcomes. The study found three types of services that were particularly meaningful: • supportive housing • nutritional support • some case management and outreach programs.
“THE ALLOCATION OF (SOCIAL SERVICE) SPENDING, NOT JUST THE TOTAL INVESTMENT, MAY BE KEY TO IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES.” THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 9
NEWS COVERINSTORY BRIEF
“THE ALCOHOL AND DRUG FOUNDATION’S GOOD SPORTS PROGRAM HAD REDUCED RISKY DRINKING AT SPORTS CLUBS BY 37 PER CENT AND THE RISK OF ALCOHOL-RELATED HARM TO CLUB MEMBERS BY 42 PER CENT.” Australia
Kick Mad Mondays into touch When elite sports clubs and organising bodies accept alcohol industry funding and engagement, they are emulated at the amateur level. Research published in The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that the Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s Good Sports Program had reduced risky drinking at sports clubs by 37 per cent and the risk of alcohol-related harm to club members by 42 per cent. This is despite the saturation levels of alcohol marketing and sponsorship within some of Australia’s most popular sports. “The alcohol industry has put in solid efforts at every level of sport to ensure that advertising messaging reaches us any time we engage with it,” Carl Heslop from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation told Croakey (July).
“This can lead to conflicting situations for clubs. It can make it hard for club leaders, community leaders and health promotion organisations to prise open the door of a booze-sponsored club and start a conversation on the separation of booze and sport.” Heslop says, for all of the great things that grassroots participation in sport has to offer, the solid relationship between participating in some sports and high-risk drinking can bring with it plenty of harm. “Take Mad Monday. This was once an elite sport ritual to mark the end of a season. Now, Mad Monday is at home in amateur sports. Mad Monday is a problem – and it sits alongside some long-term booze and community sports norms that bring mixed messages and opportunity for alcoholrelated harm.”
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Australia
Go Gentle campaign launched A national campaign appealing for politicians to support voluntary euthanasia laws was launched in late September. The campaign, called ‘Go Gentle’, was launched by television and radio personality Andrew Denton at South Australia’s Parliament House. Voluntary euthanasia legislation is currently before SA Parliament. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) supports the campaign. ANMF Federal Secretary Lee Thomas said nurses witness daily the suffering of patients and their families. “Right now across Australia, nurses are providing treatment, care and emotional support to people who are suffering unrelievable pain,” she said. “They witness more than anyone else the damage, harm and trauma that is taking place in the absence of this legislation. “We are seeking voluntary euthanasia laws that are completely voluntary, help people who face a terrible, lingering death, have strong checks and balances, and have doctors and nursing professionals at the centre of the process. “A compassionate community should afford people the choice of a peaceful death when there are no other options available.” Polls consistently show that in excess of 75 per cent of Australians support the introduction of voluntary euthanasia laws. Seven Victorian cabinet ministers recently came out in support of the introduction of legislation in that state. South Australia is the only state with legislation currently before parliament and could become the first in Australia to pass voluntary euthanasia laws.
“NOT ONLY DOES COMMUTING INCREASE SNACKING HABITS, IT ALSO MEANS WE HAVE LESS FREE TIME AVAILABLE TO LEAD AN ACTIVE, HEALTHY LIFESTYLE.” Britain
Commuting can be bad for health A report by the Royal Society for Public Health argues that commuting can negatively impact both physical and mental health.
Lee Thomas
“A COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITY SHOULD AFFORD PEOPLE THE CHOICE OF A PEACEFUL DEATH WHEN THERE ARE NO OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE.”
The report highlights research that suggests non-active commuting – not walking or cycling to work – is detrimental to our health. The research indicates it can increase how many unhealthy foods we eat, impact our mental health and raise blood pressure reports NHS Choices (August). The issue of commuter health is arguably more important than ever because of the increasing number of people who have to commute. There are now 24 million regular commuters in England and Wales, with the average commute lasting 56 minutes a day. Not only does commuting increase snacking habits, it also means we have less free time available to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. To combat this trend, the report calls for the public to cycle or walk to work where possible. They recommend employers adopt a flexible working policy to allow more people to work from home or travel to and from work at different times. Transport companies are also called upon to increase healthier food options in stations, put on more trains, get rid of first class carriages to increase seating capacity, and advise travellers of train capacity to enable them to plan their journeys at less stressful times. THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 11
COVER STORY
Five more public hospitals to be privatised NSWNMA vows to oppose Coalition’s latest privatisation push.
The NSW Coalition government has escalated its health care privatisation policy by announcing that five major regional public hospitals will be run by private operators. Health Minister Jillian Skinner said Maitland, Wyong, Goulburn, Shellharbour and Bowral hospitals would be converted to “public-private partnerships” (PPPs). Ms Skinner said she had invited expressions of interest from private and not-for-profit operators to build and run Maitland, Wyong, Goulburn and Shellharbour hospitals and to operate Bowral hospital.
“By making these deals with the private sector, which do not enforce ratios, the minister is abrogating her duty of care to the people of this state.” Brett said the union would continue to campaign against health care privatisation and educate the community about threats to the future of public health services. Staff at the affected hospitals will hold a series of rallies in protest with unions also planning a community awareness campaign.
“BY MAKING THESE DEALS WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THAT DO NOT ENFORCE RATIOS, THE MINISTER IS ABROGATING HER DUTY OF CARE TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE.”— Brett Holmes She claimed public patients would continue to receive free hospital treatment. Current permanent staff would be offered a position “provided an equivalent position exists” and migrating staff would have a two-year employment guarantee. General Secretary of the NSWNMA, Brett Holmes, said the “appalling” decision meant the government was effectively selling off the hospitals to private companies. “This is a sad day for the public hospital system of NSW and confirms that the Baird government has an agenda to privatise more public hospitals throughout the state,” he said. AGAIN, PROFITS COME BEFORE PATIENTS
The profit motive of private operators puts patient care and safety at risk and pushes the health system further towards the American model. “We are extremely concerned about patient care in the long run, as no large private hospital operator has been prepared to agree to nurse to patient ratios anywhere in NSW. Without these, patient safety is dependent upon budget, and now profit, to determine staffing levels. “We have repeatedly warned the health minister of the dire consequences if safe patient care is compromised as a result of ratios not being introduced and mandated. 12 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT IS SCARCE IN REGIONAL AREAS
Brett said staff may not be offered positions at the new hospitals and would have little choice of alternative local jobs. He pointed out that Premier Baird introduced a regulation in June that terminated the redundancy entitlements of public servants who are transferred to the non-government sector. “Ms Skinner has stipulated in her media release that only permanent staff will be offered a position, provided an equivalent job exists. But if you knock back an ‘equivalent’ job with the private provider, you will forfeit any kind of redundancy entitlement. Casual staff have limited rights in this situation. “Local nurses and midwives remain in the dark about their future working conditions and entitlements, with only a two-year employment guarantee offered and no opportunity to negotiate. “There was absolutely no warning or consultation with the NSWNMA or our members prior to the announcement. “Not only has this government shut the community out of the decision making process, they’ve forced hundreds of professional nursing and midwifery staff to wait on the sidelines as their future prospects are discussed without consulting them.” At Shellharbour Hospital, registered nurse Laura
Gosford RN Meg Pendrick featured in the NSWNMA TV ad before the 2015 state election that warned voters that the Baird government intended to privatise public health services.
“NSW SHOULD THINK VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE IT RUSHES DOWN THIS PATH.” — Former Sydney Morning Herald health editor Amy Corderoy. Valenzuela told The Illawarra Mercury that staff were worried about losing their entitlements and their job security. ‘’I’ve worked at the hospital for 11 years. I’m 52; I no longer know if I’ll have a permanent position until I retire,” she said. NSWNMA Shellharbour branch delegate Cameron Creighton told the paper that members hoped to get community support for their campaign. “I think the NSW public has the right to know their government is essentially selling off their public hospitals,” he said.
What else is the Baird Government selling off in NSW? ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Hospitals Land property information Community services Housing Trustee and guardian Sport and recreation Prisons Powerhouse Museum TAFE ServiceFirst Court reporters Government records Public works
Baird’s false message to voters In the run-up to the 2015 state election, NSW Premier Mike Baird urged voters to ignore NSWNMA advertisingthat warned voters that he planned to privatise hospital services. Baird ridiculed the advertisements as a dishonest attempt to scare people. “My urging is to everyone across NSW, don’t listen to the scare campaign. Whatever the unions throw at us, it’s not true,” he said. Since then, Baird has pushed ahead with privatisation of hospital services on Sydney’s northern beaches and has now announced that private operators will run five of the state’s rural hospitals. “Quietly, but surely, the NSW government has been radically changing the fundamental structure of healthcare in our most populous state,” commented former Sydney Morning Herald health editor Amy Corderoy in The Guardian (September). “NSW should think very carefully before it rushes down this path”, she warned. “History tells us the reality of this privatisation-light isn’t always so rosy. And by the time people start getting upset it can be too late, with the government locked into a 10, 20 or even 50-year contract with a private operator.” Corderoy noted the profit motive and quality care had quickly come into conflict at Royal North Shore Hospital as a result of cleaning and portering being outsourced. Despite serious problems “the government was stuck in a 28-year contract with a private operator that said it could not afford to meet increased costs”. She cited reports of public patients being “mistakenly” refused bulk billing by the private (not-for-profit) Chris O’Brien Lighthouse cancer centre, and the “disastrous” history of the Port Macquarie Base Hospital outsourcing, “which the auditor general famously concluded had resulted in the state government ‘paying for the hospital twice and then giving it away’”. Queensland, South Australia and Victoria “all faced similar scathing judgments from auditors left to rake over the pieces of failed (hospital) privatisation attempts”. THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 13
COVER STORY
IF THEY CAN DO IT TO US, NONE OF THE LARGER HOSPITALS IN SYDNEY ARE SAFE EITHER
Pam Illingworth, Clinical Nurse Educator, Wyong Hospital
‘‘
“WE’VE STARTED UP A FACEBOOK PAGE CALLED ‘KEEP OUR HOSPITAL PUBLIC’ AND WITHIN A DAY WE HAD 1,300 MEMBERS.”
I’m floored, absolutely astounded. I can’t believe the government can think that a private hospital can run a hospital the same way as a public hospital does and make a profit. Wyong is a busy hospital. They keep telling us it will be the same, but no private emergency department has ever worked as efficiently as the public one. People keep saying ‘I can’t afford health cover, so how is it going to affect me when I need to go to emergency?’. People are getting scared. I’ve only got seven years until I retire, and I’m also concerned I can’t afford private health insurance because it is going up all the time. In emergency we saw 62,000 patients last year, and this year we’re heading to 65,000 already. Another issue is the impact it is going to have on the other hospitals nearby, like John Hunter and Gosford, because people are going to go to those if they are still public. So how are they going to cope? If they can do it to us, none of the larger hospitals in Sydney are safe either. Where does it stop? Once all the assets are sold off what is left? [Wyong Hospital] is telling staff that permanent employees will have a position for two years, and after that there are no guarantees. I’m a clinical nurse educator and I know that at private hospitals there are very few CNEs. There are two CNEs in my department in emergency and we have 15 to 20 more throughout the hospital. We’ve started up a Facebook page called ‘keep our hospital public’ and within a day we had 1,300 members.
”
THERE’S A CLIMATE OF FEAR Jane Cotter, RN, Goulburn Base Hospital
‘‘
There’s only one hospital in Goulburn, so there’s no other employment for health workers other than at that one hospital. So there’s no guarantee that if it goes to the private sector everyone will have a job. People have their lives here and are bringing up their families here. They don’t want to move. And if someone does get a job, there’s no guarantee whether our entitlements will be honoured if we go to t he private sector. It’s a very scary situation for the workers and it is a very scary situation for the community at large. It is their hospital, it belongs to them, it belongs to the public and the taxpayers, and they are worried that it now will belong to a private company and be run for profit. Nurses are worried about staffing levels and skill mix because the private sector doesn’t have to honour
14 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
mandated ratios of nurses to patients, so we worry about our patients, that they won’t have the care they have now. We’re also worried that nurses will lose their entitlements. We’re worried about people becoming redundant. Under legislation brought in by the Baird government, if people move from the public to the private sector and are then made redundant, the private sector employer won’t have to honour the years of work people have done in the public sector. There’s a climate of fear at the moment. They say they will honour other entitlements such as long service leave and sick leave, but no one knows if that will happen. This was not brought to the election by our local member Pru Goward. We’ve got to raise community awareness and unite the community.
”
PUBLIC HEALTH IS THE KEY TO A HEALTHY POPULATION Cameron Creighton, RN, Shellharbour Hospital
‘‘
I’ve been to America a few times and I’ve seen the state of their healthcare system and I don’t want us to go towards that. In America everyone has to have private health insurance. You can’t really survive without private health insurance. Over here it doesn’t really make a difference whether you have private insurance or not. I think there are going to be second class citizens in the health care system if we bring in further privatisation. Access to good health care is a right, and if we keep moving to a privatised health system, the rich are going to get better health care because they can afford it. I see health as an investment in the future. Public health is the key to a healthy population and a healthy population is the key to a healthy future for this country. We’ve got lower socio-economic suburbs and higher socio-economic suburbs here – and now everyone comes to our hospital and gets treated the same way. In the future I believe honestly there will be some people who won’t go to hospital because they won’t be able to afford it. It will deter some people from accessing basic public health services. I do my job because I care about people and I want to have the time to spend with my patients that they deserve. Are private health companies going to cut ratios to make a profit? Of course they are going to cut ratios to make a profit. That will impact on patient care. We’re having union meetings soon and we’re going to be talking to our health representatives and our members of parliament.
”
“THERE WILL BE SOME PEOPLE WHO WON’T GO TO HOSPITAL BECAUSE THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT.”
“THERE’S NO GUARANTEE THAT IF (GOULBURN HOSPITAL) GOES TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR EVERYONE WILL HAVE A JOB OR THAT OUR ENTITLEMENTS WILL BE HONOURED.” THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 15
PEOPLE’S INQUIRY INTO PRIVATISATION
Privatisation in the dock A national inquiry is underway to gauge the extent and effects of privatisation – and to put forward alternatives that protect public services.
Nurses are among dozens of Australians from many occupations to give evidence and make submissions to a People’s Inquiry into Privatisation. They include nurses affected by privatisation of the NSW government’s Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) and the Northern Beaches and Port Macquarie hospitals. The NSW government will sell ADHC services and shift 1,200 nurses to the non-government sector. It will close Mona Vale and Manly hospitals and replace them with a new privately operated Northern Beaches hospital.
“POLITICIANS HAVE FOUND NEW WAYS TO SELL PRIVATISATION INCLUDING OUTSOURCING AND PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.” — Brett Holmes Port Macquarie Hospital is plagued by the legacy of a failed privatisation experiment which forced the government to buy it back in 2004. Initiated by Public Services International affiliates, including the NSWNMA, the inquiry is holding public hearings in capital cities and regional centres around Australia. “We want to talk directly with communities about the impact of privatisation on services,” said inquiry chairman David Hetherington, executive director of the progressive think-tank, Per Capita. “The aim of the inquiry is to begin a conversation about the issue of privatisation in all its forms – including outsourcing, social impact bonds, user-pays, vouchers, commissioning, etc. – and build consensus around an alternative vision for our public services. “We need to put forward our vision for the role of government in service delivery, what kind of public services our community needs, and ultimately, what kind of society we want to live in.”
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THE GFC HAS BEEN USED TO FURTHER PRIVATISATION
He said the finance industry and other privatisation advocates took advantage of the 2007 Global Financial Crisis to persuade politicians to accelerate privatisation. “In all jurisdictions we have seen politicians running down our public services through chronic underfunding and budget cuts, which serve as a further incentive for privatisation.” He said the Productivity Commission would soon begin an inquiry into extending “competition and choice” in the human services sector – “which we know is just code for privatisation.” “Our inquiry will run parallel to the Productivity Commission inquiry, but instead of looking into ways to further marketise and privatise public services for the benefit of business, we start from the premise that public services are here to serve people and their communities.” NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes said the union supported the inquiry because it believed public services and especially health services should be run for public good not private profit. “As people increasingly turn against privatisation politicians have found new ways to sell the concept, including outsourcing and public private partnerships,” Brett said. “Like traditional privatisations they are all designed to shift public assets and services into private hands. “The outcome is the same – worse services, job losses and lack of financial transparency.” He said the inquiry was needed to start a campaign that would build consensus for a positive vision for improved health care and other public services.
“WE START FROM THE PREMISE THAT PUBLIC SERVICES ARE HERE TO SERVE PEOPLE AND THEIR COMMUNITIES.” — David Hetherington
Brett Holmes and Robyne Brown at the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation.
Uncertainty clouds new privatised hospital More than three years after the NSW government announced it would hand the new Northern Beaches hospital to a private operator, nurses are still waiting to be told how privatisation will affect them and their patients. The uncertainty worries many nurses who will transfer from Manly and Mona Vale public hospitals when the new hospital opens in November next year. Mona Vale Hospital branch secretary Robyne Brown told the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation the government did not consult with the public before announcing the privatisation in 2013. “The government is closing two public hospitals to build a private hospital yet most people still don’t realise it will be a private hospital with public beds,” said Robyne, who works in the short stay unit of Mona Vale’s emergency department. “When we ask what the new service will look like, no one has any answers for us. “The operator, Healthscope, is still unsure how it will work and how public patients will be cared for in comparison with private patients.
“Will public patients get the same services they do now or will more services be ‘for profit’ based? “For example, when we send someone home from the public hospital we make sure there’s a plan in place for them to come back or be followed up in other ways. “That costs money and we don’t know how well the private hospital will perform that function. “The government says it will be just like going to a public hospital but nobody knows because they’ve never done this before. We suspect Healthscope will encourage patients to use private health insurance.” Robyne said Healthscope had undertaken to maintain Mona Vale and Manly nurses’ public sector pay and conditions for two years following the transfer. “We don’t know what will happen after two years. “The government has ruled out voluntary redundancy and has offered us a transfer payment but hasn’t said how much. “They can’t give a firm answer to that and many other questions.”
“MOST PEOPLE STILL DON’T REALISE IT WILL BE A PRIVATE HOSPITAL WITH PUBLIC BEDS.” — Robyne Brown
Have your voice heard. Go to:
PEOPLE’S INQUIRY INTO PRIVATISATION http://www.peoplesinquiry.org.au/
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 17
PEOPLE’S INQUIRY INTO PRIVATISATION
Sell-off to hit chronically disabled The quality of life of chronically disabled people with life-threatening illnesses will quickly decline once state-run disability services are privatised. Gary Dunne
Privatisation will profoundly affect current and future clients of Summer Hill Accommodation and Respite Centre in Sydney, the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation has heard. The centre is run by the state-owned Ageing, Disability and Home Care service (ADHC), which the government is breaking up and putting out to tender. Developmental disability nurse Gary Dunne told the inquiry Summer Hill clients all have difficult-to-manage conditions, including epilepsy and major respiratory problems, and require tracheostomies, gastrostomies, in-dwelling catheters and ventilation. Clients come from around the state and only the most urgent cases which meet these criteria of “complex health” are accepted. “Our clients are the most fragile and frail and need 24-hour care by experienced registered nurses. They cannot be placed elsewhere because other services cannot take them,” said Gary, secretary of the union’s ADHC Metro South branch. The state government says its ADHC disability services will no longer be needed because clients will be able to access funds to purchase services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). GOVERNMENT IGNORES PARENTS’ PLEAS
The government has rejected pleas by Summer Hill centre parents and friends to
18 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
maintain the centre as a safety net for the most seriously disabled. “Everything is up for sale – there will be no exceptions,” Gary said. “The sell-off will create a totally different financial structure around how we operate. “Under NDIS each client will have an annual grant and Summer Hill will charge clients an annual fee. My unit’s entire operation will have to be paid for from the fees paid by our 10 clients. “Those fees will have to cover not only clients’ accommodation and nursing but also other services on site, from the linen service and oxygen and medical supplies to cleaners, outdoor staff, clerical staff, nursing education and building and equipment maintenance. “Currently some of these services and costs are met by the department and shared widely. Our clinical nurse educator, occupational therapist and physio are all based on site but cover a region from the inner city to Liverpool. “Our physiotherapist, for example, spends a couple of hours each morning doing chest physio with our most frail residents before heading out to see cases elsewhere in the region. “Once we are privatised and broken up there is no way that fee income is going to be able to pay for a physio to be on site every morning. “We will have to use someone from a private physio service and they have proven to be unreliable.”
“WE BELIEVE THE STATE HAS A BASIC RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE A SAFETY NET FOR THE COMMUNITY.” — Gary Dunne
EVEN MORE PRESSURE ON PUBLIC HOSPITALS
Gary said a privatised service would have to cut costs to meet a reduced budget and this would include replacing registered nurses with assistant nurses or residential support workers. “An RN can easily replace a trachie tube or gastrostomy tube, but if the skill mix is changed to save money, the plan will say ‘Call an Ambulance’ thereby putting more demand on the hospital system. “Complex epilepsy management and quality palliative care will also become problematic and the quality of life of our clients will quickly decline.” He said staff were concerned not only for current clients but also the “unplaceable” young people on the Summer Hill waiting list. “They are currently in a nursing home, or non-medical environment, or home with ageing parents and need a level of care that their NDIS package cannot meet or no other current services can meet. “As a ‘short term’ solution a nursing home will take the young person and their NDIS package and tick all the boxes – and there they will stay forever. “My members and I aren’t coming at this from a political perspective. Our agreed position is based on what currently works and currently provides quality care and support for our clients, and what the consequences of applying a different funding model to those services will inevitably be. “We believe the state has a basic responsibility to provide a safety net for the community – for those who, for whatever reason, cannot get the service they need from existing non-government sources. “A society is judged by how it cares for its most vulnerable, and we believe NSW is failing in its primary responsibility by totally walking away from front-line disability services.”
Better lives from better care Gary Dunne gave the privatisation inquiry examples of how the Summer Hill centre had changed the lives of two young people. “We admitted a teenage lad from a nonmedical group home who was not expected to live and was receiving palliative care. “We applied better epilepsy management, a better feeding regime, physio, and taught him to cough rather than frequent suctioning. As a result, he is now able to go out to an activity centre every day. “A woman in her twenties is another admission from a nursing home. She had not been outside the nursing home in over a year – it was no life at all. She is now thriving and going out almost every day. She now dresses in fluoro rather than the old lady’s garb she used to wear.”
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 19
PEOPLE’S INQUIRY INTO PRIVATISATION
Privatisation ‘undermines trust in governments’ Privatisation is a major reason why Australians are increasingly distrustful of governments according to a leading social policy expert.
‘‘WE STOPPED BEING CITIZENS AND BECAME CUSTOMERS AND NOW EVERYTHING HAS GOT TO MAKE A PROFIT.’ — Eva Cox
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Australians have “had a gutful” of privatisation, which partly explains their increasing distrust of governments and both major parties, says Eva Cox, a prominent sociologist, author and social commentator. “It’s quite clear from recent elections that people have become more distrustful of governments than they’ve ever been,” she told The Lamp. “One reason is that both major parties have been down the track of privatisation and it’s hard to find any area in which privatisation has improved things.” Ms Cox gave evidence to the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation which she said was long overdue. “We have assumed for the last 20–30 years that the private sector is better than the public sector in dealing with problems yet there has been very little analysis of whether or not privatisation actually works,” she said. “It is an ideological belief that the private sector has to be more efficient than the public sector. In some cases it is but in many cases it is not. “The big expansion of the public sector post World War II in health care, Medicare, public schools and universities, was driven by the idea that you could use the public sector to create a better society. Governments owned a lot of assets and charged relatively small fees. “However in the 80s and 90s governments started selling everything off. We stopped being citizens and became customers and now everything has got to make a profit. “The profit motive has undermined the idea of what public services are about and also undermined people’s faith in government.
“In the past you could actually see what government money was being used for. Now there are fewer and fewer examples of that. “People are told to take out private health insurance because you can’t trust the public system and if you want things done in a hurry you get it done privately and queue jump. “The TAFE system has been ripped off enormously by a lot of bad providers. In childcare costs have gone up astronomically since it began to be treated as a commercial service rather than a community service. “Bus routes used to be worked out on the basis that people needed them. Now you have bus routes taken off because they don’t offer a profit. “We now have to pay to drive on roads and people are asking, ‘Why are we paying taxes because the government doesn’t seem to be doing very much for us anymore.’ “There is increasing inequality and a disappearing public sector and the result is people are deeply disappointed with the democratic process generally and major parties in particular. “People need a sense that the government is there for them but they see the government is only there for big business.” Ms Cox said she hoped the inquiry would provide ammunition for a movement to help restore a balance between the market, government and the community sector. “For the last 20 years nobody has tried to control the market. It has taken over other sectors, is out of control and thinks it has the right to do anything.”
Cost cutting plagued privatised hospital A Port Macquarie nurse tells how a privatised hospital sought to cut costs by eroding nurses’ working conditions. Port Macquarie Base Hospital nurses had to fight against the widespread introduction of unregulated Assistants In Nursing (AINs) during a decade-long failed privatisation experiment, the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation has been told. NSWNMA branch president Ken Procter said attempts were made to employ large numbers of AINs under the guise of this being an innovative model of care. A Liberal/National Coalition government opened Port Macquarie Base Hospital with a private operator in 1994. Problems that plagued the hospital under private ownership included funding for elective surgery running out before the end of the financial year and very long waiting lists for surgery. The private operation model ended in failure and the government was forced to buy back the hospital in 2004. The NSW auditor-general cited the hospital as an example of the public sector being left to shoulder the risk, saying: “The government is, in effect, paying for the hospital twice and giving it away.” Ken worked at the hospital throughout the privatised period. In a submission to the inquiry he said staff who transferred from Hastings District Hospital were ‘guaranteed’ that their public award entitlements would continue. However, this was “interpreted by the private management to their best advantage”. “While wage rates were protected, other public award conditions were not as secure as we were led to believe. “For example, we missed out on the rollout of Department of Health funding for 10-hour night shifts as we were considered a ‘private’ hospital.
“The flat management structure of the privatised hospital meant that nurse and midwifery unit managers had additional tasks added to their workloads. “In 2004, when the hospital came under public management, we were well behind in the numbers of nurses and midwives in consultant and education positions.” He said fewer allied health staff were employed under private management, forcing nurses and midwives to take on additional tasks to cover for these staffing shortfalls. “Recruitment and promotion in the public service has a level of transparency that is absent in the private sector. Private management favoured appointment of staff with the right corporate mind set. “Even on the day to day staffing of wards, when you have nurses and midwives employed under both public and private awards, pressures to reduce wage costs inevitably influenced who was offered additional or overtime shifts. “Private management sought to reduce the number of staff employed under the public award. “Tactics employed at Port Macquarie included using requests for variation in hours of employment to shift staff onto new contracts under the private award.” Ken said Port Macquarie Base Hospital still suffers in comparison with peer hospitals due to the legacy of the decade of privatisation which came to an end 12 years ago. “This is particularly felt in the inadequate numbers of allied health staff and the level of services provided by the contracted pharmacy, radiology and pathology providers.”
“PRIVATE MANAGEMENT FAVOURED APPOINTMENT OF STAFF WITH THE RIGHT CORPORATE MIND SET.” — Ken Procter
Have your voice heard. Go to:
PEOPLE’S INQUIRY INTO PRIVATISATION http://www.peoplesinquiry.org.au/
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 21
HEALTH AND INEQUALITY
Inequality is a big deal Inequality impacts greatly on people’s health and drags down economic growth. Australia was becoming a more equal country throughout the 20th century until the 1980s, when changes in economic policy created a gap in incomes that has increased to this day, says Peter Martin, economics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times. “The top earners have got more. The share held by the top 1 per cent has doubled and the share held by the top 0.1 per cent has tripled (over the last 25 years)”, he told NSWNMA annual conference. In Australia, he says, the richest 20 per cent have 60 per cent of the wealth. The poorest 20 per cent have 1 per cent of the wealth. Martin says that in the early years of BHP its chief executive was paid a little more than 50 times Australia’s average income. By the early 1980s this had dropped to six times the average income. By 2012 the BHP CEO was earning 250 times average earnings. “What on earth has happened? Is it too much? I would say it is too much”, he said. This growing inequality has had consequences for people’s health. The top fifth of the population in terms of earnings will die five years later than the bottom fifth. How long you will live after retirement, depends on your final salary. “The less you earn the more likely you are to have heart disease, the more likely you are to have diabetes, the more likely you are to have depression and the more likely you are to have cancer.” INEQUALITY DRAGS DOWN ECONOMIC GROWTH
Not only does inequality impact adversely on people’s health. Even the International Monetary Fund and the OECD now recognise that inequality has a negative economic impact. If inequality continues to increase at the rate it has over the last two decades the OECD estimates it will drag down economic growth by 0.35 percentage points annually for the next 25 years. “That’s an accumulative loss over 25 years of 8.5 per cent,” says Peter Martin. “Now, think about what that means. We’ve just had an election fought, supposedly fought, over company tax cuts. Company tax cuts over that same period of time – over a few decades – were said to lift GDP, to lift the economy by only 1 per cent.” INFLUENCE MATTERS
There are many theories among economists to explain why inequality is growing: • The automation theory argues that so many tasks in a modern economy require specialisation and therefore those with a higher education will get a high income and the rest won’t. 22 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
• The superstar theory suggests that a company needs to pay a lot of money to attract the best talent that would give it a competitive advantage. • A third theory is rent seeking – that the richest individuals make their money in economic areas where influence matters. • According to a Business Review Weekly survey - the richest 200 list: – 61 per cent made their money in property – 23 per cent made their money in natural resources, and – another 19 per cent made them from managing investments. “Now these are all things where influence matters. It’s the government that decides what you can mine. It’s the government that can rezone land. Their point is that over half and the overwhelming bulk of the money of the richest 200, got there not necessarily through political favours - although there are certainly political donors among them – they got there through influence,” says Peter Martin. “These people believe they have a voice and they like to use it. “When you think of the big argument we had over the superannuation tax concessions in the election – there was virtually no argument over a separate move in the budget that takes money away from Newstart recipients. “Over the last 30 years reductions in tax rates explain one half to one third of the rise in the income share of the top 1 per cent.” MAKE MONEY LESS IMPORTANT
Money is not the only aspect of inequality, says Peter Martin. “One thing I think would help, is making money less important. “We have unequal access to health and extraordinary unequal access to dental care. We have unequal access to good schools, unequal access to good housing, unequal access to good food, unequal access to respect. “Now if we could get money out of the equation, and that’s what governments used to do, they used to say ‘alright, well we can’t do that much about income distribution, but we can make sure everyone can get a good stay at a hospital. We can make sure everyone can get dental care’. That way (money) might matter less and that would be a really good thing to do.”
Listen to the podcast HEALTH AND INEQUALITY Peter Martin on economic growth. http://bit.ly/Petermartin
“IN AUSTRALIA THE RICHEST 20 PER CENT HAVE 60 PER CENT OF THE WEALTH. THE POOREST 20 PER CENT HAVE 1 PER CENT OF THE WEALTH.”— Peter Martin
Why inequality is growing • The minimum wage is shrinking. Australia had the highest minimum wage in the OECD. Now we have the sixth highest. • Unionisation is shrinking. International Monetary Fund research shows that the lower the level of unionism the greater the proportion of income goes to the richest 10 per cent. • Newstart is shrinking. • The vast bulk of super tax concessions go to the rich. The top 10 per cent of income earners get about 32 per cent of the income concessions. The bottom 60 per cent gets 20 per cent of income tax concessions.
Number of richest 200 Australians by industry 61 23 19 17 14 13 11 9 9
2 1
Retail
Services
Rural
Media Financial Services
8
Technology
5
Entertainment
5
Transport
Construction
Natural Resources
Organising Investments
Manufacturing
Health
Property
“People working in the largest categories are not the kinds of innovators one has in mind when reading in economic textbooks about how innovation expands the economic frontier. About half of our super-rich spend their efforts on activities where local political decisions determine the winners – decisions about who gets to build which property where, who gets access to favourable mining concessions, and so on.” — Peter Martin
Source: Frijters & Foster, Rising Inequality: Benign outgrowth of markets, or symptom of cancerous political favours?
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 23
HEALTH AND INEQUALITY HEALTH AND INEQUALITY
Fake economics Economic language isn’t used to help, inform or educate the public but to silence it argues Richard Denniss.
“We now have the ridiculous situation that, if you can stand it and tune into Q&A, you’ll see non-economist politicians talking to a million non-economist voters in the language of economics. If I didn’t speak Japanese and you didn’t speak Japanese it would be odd for us to choose Japanese as a language to converse in,” Richard Denniss, chief economist for the Australia Institute told NSWNMA Professional Day. “Except, if I didn’t want to converse. Except, if I just wanted to tell you that there is no alternative, that we just can’t collect more tax and spend more on health. If I wanted to keep you out of the debate, then I would choose to speak a language that you yourself couldn’t participate in.” Furthermore, he says, “the economics profession plays a disproportionately important role in our public debates”. “My profession more than any other profession is wheeled out to say ‘suck it up’. My profession is wheeled out to say: ‘sure we could do something about inequality, but if we did that, you know it would destroy the economy don’t you? You know you’d all lose your jobs, don’t you?’ Malcolm Turnbull’s mantra of “jobs and growth” during the federal election fitted this pattern, he says. “I call these arguments econobabble. It’s not actually economics. If you go and ask actual economists about these claims they’ll say, ‘oh that’s not really true’. But within our public debate these arguments are mounted very forcefully. 24 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
“We’ve created a public debate where if we suggest that we collect more tax revenue by closing loopholes in superannuation, by closing loopholes on capital gains, if we were to do that – and spend more money on important job-creating services like teachers, nurses and dental care – then to do that would somehow wreck the economy. “And it is fake economics that are used to maintain a democracy in which the overwhelming majority of the population agree that closing down tax loopholes used by the rich to spend the money on important services is a great thing. “The only thing stopping us from doing it is the ‘econobabble’ used by powerful people in powerful positions talking down to other people.” THE MARKET SPEAKS!
Economic jargon is being used to derail important democratic debate about our priorities as a society, Denniss says. “The best trick used by powerful voices to silence public debate about these things is to talk about ‘the market’ and what ‘the market’ wants and what ‘the market’ needs. “I’ll give you an example. The government suggests it’s going to close superannuation tax concessions raising tens of billions of dollars a year. It’s going to crack down on capital gains tax concessions and negative gearing, making houses cheaper and collecting tens of billions of
“WHEN WE HEAR THAT ‘THE MARKET’ REACTED ANGRILY AT SUGGESTIONS THAT WE CLOSE CAPITAL GAINS TAX CONCESSIONS, WHAT YOU HEARD WAS THE FOLLOWING: RICH PEOPLE WHO OWN A LOT OF SHARES REACTED ANGRILY TODAY, AT THE THOUGHT THAT THEY SHOULD PAY MORE TAX.” — Richard Denniss
dollars a year, we can do this, and we’re going to spend a lot more money on health and education.” How is this progressive agenda stopped? “Oooh, ‘the markets’ will react angrily. ‘the markets’ would mark us down. ‘the markets’.” “When we hear that ‘the market’ reacted angrily at suggestions that we close capital gains tax concessions, what you heard was the following: Rich people who own a lot of shares reacted angrily today, at the thought that they should pay more tax.”
Listen to the podcast HEALTH AND INEQUALITY Richard Denniss on economic language. http://bit.ly/RDenniss
A REAL DEBATE ABOUT CREATING JOBS AND GROWTH
Instead of ‘jobs and growth’ being an empty, three-word election slogan there needs to be a real debate about improving employment in Australia, Denniss says. “(Nurses) work in one of the most labour-intensive industries in the Australian economy. Per million dollars spent on health services we create more jobs than almost any other activity. “Mining, on the other hand, creates the least jobs per million dollars of activity. We subsidise the Australian mining industry to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. And every billion dollars spent subsidising a mine is a billion dollars that wasn’t spent on health and education.” He says that five times as many jobs are created in health than in mining for the same amount of money. “So here is a crazy, crazy way to create jobs: collect more tax or reduce subsidies on industries that create almost no jobs and spend it in industries that employ not just a lot of people but a lot of people whose job it is to help the rest of us. “Crazy talk I know, but when you strip away the ‘Econobabble’, I assure you that everything they say is crazy.” THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 25
HEALTH COVER STORY AND INEQUALITY
Bridging the health gap Average life expectancy numbers hide stark differences of race, geography and sex. Nurses can play an important role in helping to bridge the gaps says a leading health policy expert. Average life expectancy in Australia is 83 years but the figure disguises different outcomes for different groups, says Dr Lesley Russell of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy at the University of Sydney. People with mental illness die up to 20 years earlier than average and Indigenous Australians die 10-17 years earlier than other Australians, Dr Russell told the recent NSWNMA annual conference. Men die five years earlier than women, rural residents die up to seven years earlier than city people and residents of Western Sydney die 2.5 years earlier than those in Northern Sydney. “The average life expectancy of people who live in Burke in northern NSW is about the same as people who live in North Korea. It always amazes me that we’re so accepting of these stark differences,” she said. “We are already a country where good health and access to life’s opportunities comes down to your postcode. Growing inequality is going to make this worse.” It is estimated that between one third and one half of life expectancy gaps are explained by differences in the “social determinants of health” such as housing, clean water and air, healthy workplaces, transportation services and safe communities. 26 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
LOW EDUCATION, LOW HEALTH
“People who are unemployed and their families experience a much greater risk of premature death,” Dr Russell said. “These health effects begin when people first feel their jobs are under threat. Job insecurity or very unsatisfactory employment can be as harmful as unemployment with increasing effects on mental health and heart disease. “Generally those with the lowest health standards also have the lowest educational and literacy levels. “There is a five-year difference in life expectancy between people with 12 years or less education and those with more than 12 years’ education. “More educated people have lower morbidity from the most common acute and chronic diseases like heart conditions, stroke, emphysema, diabetes and ulcers. They are less likely to smoke and be overweight. Their physical and mental functioning is better.” SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES OFFSETS POVERTY, IMPROVES HEALTH
Dr Russell said protective social factors, including social and cultural supports, could offset material disadvantage and boost life expectancy.
‘THE BEST VALUE FOR MONEY WOULD BE MORE COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS AND MORE ABORIGINAL HEALTH WORKERS.’ — Dr Lesley Russell This is exemplified by what is known as the ‘Hispanic paradox’: Hispanics living in the US have on average a higher life expectancy and lower rates of infant mortality than white Americans even though Hispanics on average are poorer, have harsher jobs and less access to education and health care services. “However they have relatively healthy lifestyles and a social cohesion and support network which nurtures young mothers and children in particular. “We also know that low incomes have less impact if basic needs such as housing, food and health care are met.” She cites Cuba as an example of a low-income country with strong social policies and life expectancy to match first-world countries. Dr Russell advocates a “whole-of-government approach to health” that systematically takes into account the health implications of government decision-making. “If welfare and pension payments decrease then there are consequences for the health care budget and usually at the acute end of the spectrum. “Ironically the reason why whole-of-government approaches are hard to introduce is not because they cost money – they don’t. They do require real changes in policy and political culture and breaking down of silos and power bases.” She said South Australia adopted a whole-of-government approach in 2010 but “I’m not sure how well implemented it is these days. There is a need for ongoing high level commitment and champions.” She urged “immediate, pragmatic” steps to raise life expectancy among disadvantaged groups “focusing on early interventions with children and families and on taking health services to places where people spend most of their time.” “The best value for money would be more community health workers and more Aboriginal health workers.”
Listen to the podcast
Nursing programs make a difference “Nurses and midwives are well placed to know what’s needed beyond clinical services to deliver improved health,” Dr Russell told annual conference. “The real challenge comes not in knowing what to do but in finding the resources to undertake these increased responsibilities. “Too often the barriers to action are issues such as scope of practice and who pays. Somehow we need to get beyond 20th century turf wars, financing issues and siloing of responsibilities for the health of the population.” She says the following programs involving nurses and midwives are proven successes: Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program focuses on first time, low-income mothers through home visits by trained nurses. Dr Russell says it has reduced child abuse and neglect, with children less likely to be hospitalised with injuries, less likely to have behavioural problems at school, less likely to engage in substance abuse by age 12 and a reduction in criminal behaviour by parents. Dr Russell says the Kentucky School Nurses Program in the USA “doesn’t just help with health crises, kids’ medication needs and bullying. School nurses have been shown to prevent absenteeism and boost educational achievements.” She calls the Royal Flying Doctor ‘pit stop’ program a great example of taking health and prevention services to workplaces such as remote mining areas. “We all know that men take better care of their cars than they do of their bodies. This program aims to engage men in their health by likening areas of the body to body parts of a car.”
HEALTH AND INEQUALITY Dr Lesley Russell on bridging the health gap. http://bit.ly/LRussell THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 27
COVER STORY JOURNEY INSURANCE
NSWNMA to the rescue after car crash An accident while travelling to or from work could be financially ruinous without NSWNMA insurance coverage. The accident that ripped a muscle in Shari Bugden’s shoulder would have also torn a hole in her finances had she not been a member of the NSWNMA. In November 2014, midwife Shari was travelling from her home to Bowral and District Hospital to begin a 12hour night shift when she had an accident. Shari was taken to hospital with bad whiplash and a high-grade tear in her right shoulder. It was four months before she could go back to work part-time on restricted duties. STATE GOVERNMENT ABANDONED ITS RESPONSIBILITY
Two years earlier, the NSW Liberal government had cut the heart out of the state’s workers’ compensation scheme. Among the changes was the abolition of cover for injuries suffered during journeys to and from work. That would have left Shari without any income for many months but she wasn’t worried because she knew the union had stepped in to ensure members would not be disadvantaged. “I’ve been in the union since I started nursing and I knew they had stepped in to cover travel to and from work – that was a big bonus. “I could not have coped with months of no money coming in because I’m married with five children. A big chunk of my pay goes to support my family and we couldn’t survive without it.” Shari said the union helped her to lodge an insurance claim and she received her first payment about three weeks after the accident. “The hospital wasn’t sure of the steps to be followed but I contacted the NSWNMA and they helped me all the way through the whole process.”
28 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
She said someone from the union was always available to provide advice. “The Association has been absolutely marvellous. The union’s insurance cover has allowed me and my family to live the way we had done without falling to pieces. “The union also helped me to get back to work on restricted duties and, in conjunction with the doctor, told me what I could and couldn’t do.” Though she could no longer help women in labour without risking further injury, Shari was able to assist mothers during return visits to the hospital and handle paperwork and auditing. GIVEN A CHANCE TO HEAL
Shari believes that without journey insurance she would have been forced back to work earlier and probably full time to maintain her earnings. “That probably would have been to the detriment of my own body and I would have had to leave work completely.” Shari recently attended the union’s annual conference as a delegate representing Bowral members. “I’ve had so much support from the union that I’ve become a delegate for the Bowral area. Now I get lots of support to deal with issues other than my own. “The whole of annual conference has been exceptional and I’ve realised by being here that the more nurses who get involved the better the team – and the more chance we’ve got of getting what we want.” Her advice to nurses who are not members of the NSWNMA? “You don’t know when you’re going to have an accident and you’re silly if you don’t get yourself covered, so join the union.”
“THE UNION’S INSURANCE COVER HAS ALLOWED ME AND MY FAMILY TO LIVE THE WAY WE HAD DONE WITHOUT FALLING TO PIECES.” —Shari Bugden, Midwife
Accident insurance – we’ve got you covered The Liberal National government’s 2012 workers’ compensation “reforms” were one of the worst attacks on compensation rights ever seen in New South Wales. By abolishing journey accident insurance, the changes left nurses and midwives dangerously vulnerable if they injured themselves while travelling to or from work. The NSWNMA stepped in to establish a safety net by providing accident journey insurance as part of its membership fee. If you are a financial member of the NSWNMA at the time of your accident travelling to or from work, or while travelling during recess breaks, you are entitled to claim under the scheme.
What the cover provides • A weekly accident benefit up to 85 per cent of average gross weekly salary for a period of up to 104 weeks (after a 7-day waiting period). • Rehabilitation costs up to $20,000 per claim period (non-Medicare medical expenses such as physiotherapy). • Home/Car Modification Benefit up to a maximum of $20,000 per claim period. • Funeral expenses up to a maximum of $5000.
How to claim 1. L odge a workers’ compensation claim, as uncertainty remains about the interpretation of the laws. 2. I f your claim is denied you should contact the union and we will send you a claim form. 3. Submit the claim to the union along with a copy of any letter advising you that your workers’ compensation claim has been denied.
When will I get paid? Initial payment will be made to the member within five business days of our insurer receiving the claim form. Further payments will then be paid directly to the member on a monthly basis for the life of the claim. Payments will continue until you are fit to return to work, but are limited to a maximum of 104 weeks from the date of your injury. THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 29
COVER STORY
NURSES & MIDWIVES: There are many benefits of being a financial member of the NSWNMA — did you know that
Authorised by B.Holmes, General Secretary, NSWNMA
YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEES COVER YOU FOR TRAVEL TO AND FROM WORK? If you are involved in an accident while travelling to or from work, NSWNMA’s Journey Accident Insurance provides you with peace of mind. In recent years this insurance has been a financial safety net for many members who have met unfortunate circumstances travelling to or from work. As a financial member of the NSWNMA you are automatically covered by this policy. It’s important to remember however, that it can only be accessed if you are a financial member at the time of the accident. So make sure your membership remains financial at all times by paying your fees by Direct Debit or Credit. Watch Alexis talk about Journey Accident Insurance
JOURNEY ACCIDENT INSURANCE
Your journey injury safety net
UNSURE IF YOU ARE FINANCIAL? IT’S EASY! Ring and check today on 8595 1234 (metro) or 1300 367 962 (rural). Change your payment information online at
30 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
www.nswnma.asn.au
PROFESSIONAL
Human connection ‘remains vital’ Nursing is being transformed by rapid technological change but the ability of nurses to engage with patients as human beings remains vital, says the state’s chief nurse. Technological change is creating new opportunities for nurses and midwives to be innovative in the way they meet communities’ health care needs, said NSW Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Jacqui Cross. “We are in a time of unprecedented technological and societal change and the sheer volume of information available to us is astounding,” she told the NSWNMA annual conference. “We are using distance monitoring and tele-medicine to support people not just in remote and rural areas but also in their own homes. “We hear about a future that includes robotic limbs, the ability for 3D printers to generate kidneys and other organs and the ability to monitor our vital signs with our phones. “The thing that hasn’t changed is our ability to engage with each other as human beings. That is what I believe to be the constant that we bring as nurses and midwives.” She said effective nursing and midwifery leadership was essential to address these emerging opportunities. She pointed to several leadership programs run by the nursing and midwifery office for nurse managers including “Take the Lead,” which has so far covered about 400 nurse and midwife managers. “We have all seen the profound impact that effective frontline nurse managers can have in creating teams to deliver quality care where the patient is at the centre.”
“THE THING THAT HASN’T CHANGED IS OUR ABILITY TO ENGAGE WITH EACH OTHER AS HUMAN BEINGS.” A FOCUS ON DEVELOPING MANAGERS
Jacqui Cross said her office was now focusing on “development opportunities” for nursing and midwifery managers. “We currently have 65 nurse and midwife managers participating in a pilot program designed to support these senior managers to develop their leadership skills at an operational and strategic level.
“Underpinning this work is the Essentials of Care program now in its eighth year. The most recent Essentials of Care showcase attracted over 500 delegates from across the state. “Complementing this is the Productive Ward Program for mental health units with 44 mental health units now engaged in the program. “Both programs put quality at the heart of health care enabling staff to improve the patient experience through leadership, team performance, and the delivery of safe, reliable and effective care. “It is important to ensure we have the leadership capacity to remain focused on the human connection that we bring to our practice.” She said she observed “state of the art care” when she visited a Sydney emergency department with her acutely ill husband a week before the conference. “There was strong liaison with his GP: he was monitored, he had access to diagnostic services including MRI, and he had a group of senior experienced clinicians who consulted each other to form a diagnosis and treatment plan. “I knew he was in safe hands and everything was under control. “What stayed in my mind and had an impact for us was the way we were supported and interacted with during that time. “Nursing staff made us feel at the centre of what was happening and that we were important and being cared for.”
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 31
EDUCATION@NSWNMA
what’s ON AGED CARE NURSES’ FORUM – 1 Day For RNs, ENs and AINs in residential, community and hospital aged care settings, across private and public sectors. Hear from a range of interesting and informative speakers relevant to aged care nursing and network with colleagues. n Friday 14 October, Waterloo Members $30 / Non-members $50
winter news
Issue: August 1, 2016
LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES FOR NURSES AND MIDWIVES – ½ Day
Learn about potential liability, disciplinary tribunals, NMC and HCCC complaints, Coroners Court and more. n Thursday 24 November, Gymea Members $40 | Non-members $85
POLICY AND GUIDELINE WRITING FOR NURSES AND MIDWIVES – 1 Day
This interactive workshop is designed to give nurses and midwives the beginning skills to develop a document, either a policy or clinical guideline for their workplace. n Thursday 24 November, Waterloo Members $85 | Non-members $170
APPROPRIATE WORKPLACE BEHAVIOUR FOR NURSES AND MIDWIVES – 1 Day
For staff and managers to understand anti-discrimination law, help identify behaviours which constitute unlawful harassment and bullying, identify the cost of bullying, and what to do if subjected to unlawful harassment and bullying. Helps managers and supervisors identify, prevent and resolve bullying and harassment and understand why it occurs. n Friday 2 December, Gymea Members $85 | Non-members $170
Register online CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)
WWW.NSWNMA.ASN.AU/ EDUCATION/ EDUCATION-CALENDAR
For enquiries contact NSWNMA Metro: 8595 1234 Rural: 1300 367 962
Under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, all nurses and midwives must meet the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s CPD requirements in order to maintain their registration. The NSWNMA has a free CPD resource for nurses and midwives 3 2 | from T H E Lwww.nswnma.asn.au/education/cpd AMP OCTOBER 2016 available
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ASK JUDITH WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS AT WORK, NSWNMA ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY JUDITH KIEJDA HAS THE ANSWERS. Extending maternity leave I am an AIN working in a permanent position in a public hospital. I am currently on maternity leave and due to return in March 2017 after having one year off. Can I take another six months off and when do I have to let the hospital know? Under Clause 34 Part D - Right to Request - of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award, you can seek to extend your period of unpaid maternity leave (or alternatively return for less than your contracted hours by taking weekly leave without pay) to assist you in balancing your work and parental responsibilities. The hospital is obliged to consider your request having regard to your parental responsibilities. The hospital can only refuse the request on reasonable grounds i.e. the inability to otherwise manage their service provision for example. Both your request and the hospital response must be in writing. Any application should be made as early as possible to the hospital to provide ample time for the making of suitable staffing arrangements to accommodate the request.
Forced relocation I am a registered nurse working in a rural LHD. The service I work in is being restructured and it looks like my own position may change. The duties I currently undertake may be placed in a new position in another town. Can I be forced to relocate to the new location? Under PD2012_021 (Managing Excess Staff of the NSW Health Service), you cannot be forced to transfer to a new place of work if it requires you to relocate your residence. Further, you may have other valid reasons for refusing a proposed transfer that may relate to, for example, family or carer responsibilities. Each case would need to be reviewed on its own merits. However, if you were to become an excess employee and were agreeable to being placed in a permanent position that required you to relocate your residence, PD2012_021 sets out entitlements and reimbursements that would be available to you. (This is not applicable for relocations within the Greater Sydney metropolitan area unless otherwise approved by the Secretary of Health or their delegate).
Complaints about a clinician I am a registered nurse in a local health district. I was recently subject to a risk
BREAKING NEWS In previous Lamps we reported that the Baird NSW Government (without any prior warning) had gazetted the Government Sector Employment Amendment (Transfers to Non-Government Sector) Regulation 2016 (‘Regulation’). The Regulation further eroded the rights of government sector workers whose role may be subject to privatisation. The Regulation provides that a government sector employee – whose employment ceases as a result of the transfer of services to the non-government sector – is not entitled to any redundancy payment for the cessation of employment if the person is offered “comparable employment” by the non-government sector body. At the time the Regulation was seen as a possible precursor to even further privatisation. Our worst expectations have been realised with the announcement that five further regional public hospitals will be privatised. Unions NSW and affiliates lobbied cross bench members of the NSW Legislative Council to support a disallowance motion tabled by the ALP Opposition on the Regulation (i.e. have it set aside). As The Lamp goes to press, this debate has not eventuated. Following representations by the Association, the Ministry of Health has provided verbal assurance that the Regulation (even if it were to remain in place) would not be applicable to the Northern Beaches proposal as commitments made to staff about being able to exercise a choice with their employment as part of that process had previously been guaranteed – and predated this Regulation. How the Regulation will be interpreted and applied to members working at Maitland, Wyong, Shoalhaven, Goulburn and Bowral Hospitals remains an unknown but we expect the worst based on the insensitive and disrespectful way that public health workers have been dealt so far since the announcement. assessment arising from a complaint made by another staff member and told it was being dealt with as a complaint about a clinician. What should happen now? In the NSW Health Service, the Ministry of Health has issued GL2006_002 (Complaint or Concern about a Clinician – Management Guidelines),
which sets out the framework for how such complaints or concerns are to be dealt with. On receipt of any such concern or complaint, a risk assessment should be undertaken to determine if any action is required to minimise risk in the workplace. You need to be advised of the complaint, along with the investigation process to be undertaken. You should also be informed as to who will be undertaking the investigation. This is particularly important to ensure that such a person is free from any actual or perceived bias. Further, as an integral part of this process, you should be provided with all relevant information to sufficiently allow the preparation of a full response to the complaint or concern. Timeliness is also very important in such matters. GL2006_002 states that “... investigations should be concluded expeditiously. It is recommended that all investigations be completed within 60 days.” While some consideration is contemplated for those rare circumstances whereby an investigation may take longer, this should be the exception rather than the rule.
Dealing with bullying I work as an enrolled nurse in a public hospital. A couple of months ago I made a complaint about another staff member because of their bullying behaviour. After an initial discussion with me shortly after putting in the complaint, I have heard nothing since. Can this be right? The Association is often contacted with such a question and it is useful to reiterate rights in this regard. The Ministry of Health has issued PD2011_018 (Bullying – Prevention and Management of Workplace Bullying in NSW Health), which sets out the framework for how such complaints are to be dealt with. Having made a complaint, you should be provided with information and progress of the investigation and any decision that may affect you. As part of the investigation, if you are requested to attend an interview to provide further information, you have a right to a support person. Importantly, PD2011_018 sets out a recommended timeframe for managing such complaints, and they should be concluded within nine weeks of the complaint being made. Any outcomes should then be implemented within three weeks. The relevant manager has an absolute responsibility to ensure that each stage of the complaint is handled as expeditiously as possible. THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 33
34 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
A BLOG FOR AUSTRALIAN NURSES AND MIDWIVES www.nurseuncut.com.au
WHAT’S HOT THIS MONTH
Do you have a story to tell? An opinion to share?
Nurse uncut is written by everyday nurses and midwives. We welcome your ideas at nurseuncut@nswnma.asn.au
Sharing skills in a Pacific paradise
Loads of belly laughs in a ‘paradise beyond description’ – Angie’s Kiribati teaching diary. www.nurseuncut.com.au/diarysharing-skills-with-nurses-in-apacific-paradise
How can we change the bullying culture in nursing? Why do nurses bully each other and how can this be changed? CNS Belinda considers the roots and options for repair. www.nurseuncut.com.au/how-can-wechange-the-bullying-culture-in-nursing
A back injury while working as a nurse led Francesca into a specialised field that requires no lifting. www.nurseuncut.com.au/careerswhy-i-love -being-a-work-healthand-safety-nurse
Tongue-tie in newborns – to snip or not to snip?
Nurses, death and mourning After 27 years as a nurse, Tara has many vivid memories of working with the dying – and the dead. www.nurseuncut.com.au/ nurses-death-and-mourning
I love being a work, health and safety nurse
Tongue-tie affects up to 10 per cent of otherwise healthy babies, yet diagnosis and treatment are contentious. www.nurseuncut.com.au/tongue-tiein-newborns-to-snip-or-not-to-snip
In 20 words or less – reasons for being a nurse Can you say why you’re a nurse in 20 words or less? Some brave nurses give it a go. www.nurseuncut.com.au/in-20-wordsor-less-reasons-for-being-a-nurse
We’re on
Instagram! Share your photos by tagging @ nswnma and don’t forget to use the hashtag #nswnma!
New on SupportNurses YouTube channel STOPPING THE CUTS How one branch overcame proposed cuts by Ramsay. http://bit.ly/ shoreramsay
THE PEOPLE’S INQUIRY INTO PRIVATISATION Getting inside the spin on privatisation. bit.ly/privinquiry
Connect with us on Facebook
Nurse Uncut > www.facebook.com/NurseUncutAustralia New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association > www.facebook.com/nswnma Ratios put patient safety first > www.facebook.com/safepatientcare Aged Care Nurses > www.facebook.com/agedcarenurses
Follow us on Twitter @nswnma @nurseuncut
Listen to our podcast LIVING BEYOND DEMENTIA Ex-nurse Kate Swaffer, diagnosed at 49. bit.ly/shiftdementia
Look for your local branch on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/ nswnma
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 35
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SOCIAL MEDIA | facebook
WHAT NURSES & MIDWIVES
SAID & LIKED on Facebook www.facebook.com/nswnma Perceptions of privatisation
Way to pull a country down. Have experienced this in the Philippines. Really bad as the government won’t have power to regulate fees and prices. Cost of goods and services will shoot up and people won’t have much choice but to accept that, while earnings won’t rise. Australians really need to get a greater sense of ownership over their public services and utilities and fight like hell to keep them.
With the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation underway, we asked how you saw the everyday effects of increasing privatisation.
Two tiers of pay
On Equal Pay Day 2016, we highlighted the 23.7 per cent gender pay gap amongst health workers – with aged care nurses bearing the brunt.
A tsunami of support for Andrew Andrew Denton’s question to nurses sparked a massive response.
Barriers for men Is there still prejudice against men in nursing?
PHOTO GALLERY
Coasties! Central Coast members mark their achievements in the recent election campaign.
You must love what you do in aged care, it is not about the money. It is noble to say you don’t do it for the money BUT it is so unfair that aged care nurses should get less than other nurses. Your job is so important and you DESERVE to be paid equivalent to other nurses. Lower pay rates reflect the lack of respect that aged care nurses are shown for their work. Wage parity will entice quality staff into aged care. A lot of RNs I know can’t afford to drop $8/hr plus to leave state health.
Andrew, as a retired nurse and fellow human being, I fully support assisted dying. I commend you for your compassion and endurance to make a positive change that is so long overdue. I have nursed since 1968 and seen it all. Sometimes families are the worst dealing with ‘their loss’ and in their denial do not always consider the patient’s wishes. Oh what a contradiction we can be. I am all for euthanasia but it would be extremely hard for a health professional to knowingly end a life. I’m one and I wouldn’t do it because I just couldn’t. There is so much involved in this argument, not just passing it into law. I am also a retired nurse. Keep chipping away Andrew, you have my support! I work in aged care and that question I ask myself every day...not just for the aged but every adult.
Absolutely. In fact in over 25 years of nursing, I think there is not a comment I haven’t heard about ‘male nurses’. When it comes down to it a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. Things like lecturers at uni always saying “you girls”. Or an NUM saying “the girls on the floor”. These indicate the common perception of nursing as a female role and are exclusionary to males. I honestly don’t see it...I work in mental health and EDs, so more males in these environments. They are every bit as equal. My husband is studying to be an RN and I say welcome – we need more male nurses to make the workplace more pleasant. The men I know and study with are going to make lovely, kind and wonderful nurses. Should be more of them. It goes both ways. Elderly patients often assume that a male nurse is the doctor and a female doctor is the nurse. My husband is re-training as an EEN. All three of his educators are male. My son will soon graduate as a high school teacher. I work on a ward with a lot of male staff. I don’t think anything about it. There are few male paediatric nurses due to the wrongful stigma.
Replacing AiNs with HSAs is not on for these Kyogle nurses.
Aged care nurses at Bupa Waratah – respect!
Disability nurse Gary Dunne speaks to the People’s Inquiry into Privatisation.
It’s pretty straightforward for these Kempsey nurses.
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 37
RECRUIT A NEW MEMBER & GO INTO THE DRAW TO WIN A 4-NIGHT STAY AT
LOCKYER VALLEY, QUEENSLAND
PRIZE DRAWN 30 JUNE 2017
THE 2016 – 2017 NSWNMA MEMBER RECRUITMENT SCHEME PRIZE The winner will experience all the style and comfort of a luxury retreat with the warmest of country welcomes. A four night (midweek) stay for two with: • • • • •
wine and cheese plate on arrival breakfast daily two x 2 course lunches two x 3 course dinners two x 60-minute facial or massage for 2 guests (4 in total) • 4-wheel drive tour for 2 guests. 38 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
The NSWNMA will arrange return flights for two from Sydney to Brisbane and car hire for the duration of the prize. Spicers Retreat Hidden Vale is a gem, an uncomplicated escape just an hour’s drive from Brisbane. Experience the uniquely revitalising effect of spending time on 12,000 acres of true Australia bush. Space to relax. Space to listen, to laugh and to embark on an adventure amongst the abundant wildlife. Every member you sign up over the year gives you an entry in the draw!
RECRUITERS NOTE:
Join online at www.nswnma.asn.au If you refer a member to join online, make sure you ask them to put your name and workplace on the online application form. You will then be entitled to your vouchers and entry in the NSWNMA Recruitment Incentive scheme. SPICERSRETREATS .COM
Conditions apply. Prize must be redeemed by 30 June 2018 and is for stays outside of School Holiday periods, midweek (Monday to Thursday). Competition opens on 1 August 2016 and closes 30 June 2017. The prize will be drawn on 30 June 2017. If a redraw is required for an unclaimed prize it must be held up to 3 months from the original draw date. NSW Permit no: LTPM/14/00042.
National Safe Work Month is held in October each year and aims to improve the awareness of work health and safety in the workplace and to encourage discussion about safety at work by sharing positive workplace stories from across Australia. In 2016 Safe Work Australia and unions across NSW and Australia will be supporting National Safe Work Month by developing resources for businesses, hosting the workplace participation reward program, conducting conferences and the sharing of stories and statistics about work health and safety. Unions NSW will be holding a free Work Health Safety and Workers’ Compensation Conference at Unions NSW Offices, Goulburn and Sussex Streets Sydney on 10 November 2016. This is a great opportunity for WHS Representatives or those wishing to know more about WHS or becoming a WHS Representative for their workgroup.
What you can do – toolbox talk • Take five minutes to have a ‘toolbox talk’ to discuss WHS in the workplace. This may sound like ‘tradie talk’, however the same principles can be applied in Healthcare. • Ensure WHS is an agenda item at all staff meetings and that staff discuss WHS issues raised. • Brainstorm with staff the ‘Top Five’ WHS risks in your workplace. Consider such things as security and aggression, manual handling issues and management of bariatric patients. • Review the consultation arrangements in your workplace and consider if you require Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs). For more details about HSRs contact NSWNMA or review SafeWork NSW and Unions NSW websites. • Report incidents and near misses in the workplace. Utilise the reporting tools in the workplace and utilise the NSWNMA Violence App. • Document identified hazards utilising your hazard reporting process. • Review your equipment needs and safe workloads of equipment. Build a business case for equipment needs.
•R eview security and aggression procedures in your workplace and include a review of environmental issues relating to security. •K eep safe to ensure the safety of both yourself and others. •C all the NSWNMA if you require any advice or support relating to WHS matters. Send an email to lgibbs@nswnurses.asn.au to tell us your stories of success.
Safe Work Australia Virtual Seminar Series NSWNMA is working alongside other unions within the ACTU to produce a video. It will be a part of the Virtual Seminar Series (VSS) on the Safe Work Australia (SWA) website in October as part of Safe Work Australia Month relating to Occupational Violence of First Responders. A nurse working in Emergency who has been exposed to occupational violence will participate. The Violence Towards First Responders (VSS) will consist of short videos featuring first responders from police, ambulance, fire and nursing staff of emergency departments with a message to demonstrate that not only is such violence unlawful, it is also unacceptable. This will be followed by a panel discussion introduced by a guest moderator.
WORK HEALTH SAFETY MONTH
For more information on how your workplace can be involved visit the SafeWork Australia website visit http://www.safeworkaustralia. gov.au/sites/SWA.
SafeWork NSW Work Health Safety Roadmap The Work Health Safety Roadmap for NSW 2022 was launched by SafeWork NSW on 22 August 2016. The Roadmap is designed to drive statewide activities for improvement in work health and safety in NSW. It is aimed not only at the regulator but also at peak bodies, associations, community leaders, employers and workers. The Roadmap has the vision – “Healthy, safe, and productive working lives” – and sets out targets to measure success. •K ey outcomes for NSWMA include that Healthcare is now recognised as a high priority action area and as being a “Hot Spot” with significant WHS risks. •O ccupational violence is now included in the issues affecting businesses and workers. • T he targets set to achieve by 2022 are: –2 0 per cent decline in worker fatality due to injury; –3 0 per cent decline in incidence rate of claims resulting in serious injuries or illness; –3 0 per cent decline in incidence rate of claims resulting from serious musculoskeletal injury or illness.
THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 39
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Expression of interest
MeMbers for the CliMate Change aCtion referenCe group (CCarg) The NSWNMA are seeking expressions of interest from enthusiastic members to join our Climate Change Action Reference Group (CCARG). The Association needs the support and advice of members who are keen climate activists. We have committed to working with the Climate & Health Alliance (CAHA), in regard to promoting their National Strategy for the Climate, Health and Well-being Campaign. NSWNMA will be involved in sharing climate and health information with members, assisting with related surveys, and providing access to active members associated with the Global Green & Healthy Hospital’s (GGHH) network. The end goal is to lobby the government through trained climate activists sending media messages to the community in order to promote the introduction of the National Climate, Health and Well-being Policy.
40 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
The CCARG will primarily be made up of our members and interested staff. We may invite experienced climate experts who wish to work towards changing the current situation around Climate Change and health outcomes to participate from time to time. This reference group will meet the first Thursday of every second month to discuss a variety of topics and professional issues related to climate and health. We are seeking nurses and midwives who work in either a private or public health setting and are interested in being proactive in Climate Change, including those who have experience in a rural setting, as well as those with aged care experience. Teleconferencing facilities are available at Meetings for those that cannot attend in person. Please direct enquiries to: Dr Janet Roden at jroden@nswnma.asn.au
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Across 1. Hardening of the arteries (16) 11. Something that is required or necessary (4) 12. Genitourinary (2) 13. Habitually untalkative (8) 14. Wishes, desires (5) 15. The embedded part of an organ or structure such as a hair that serves as a base or support (4) 17. The removal of oxygen from a chemical compound (11) 18. A cleft or crack (4) 19. A feeling of distress, suffering, or agony, caused by stimulation of specialised nerve endings (4) 20. Traumatic brain injury (1.1.1) 21. A place frequented by a person; haunt (7) 23. Pulmonary embolism (1.1) ( 24. Upper gastrointestinal series (1.1.1) 26. Having many aspects or facets (16) 30. The branch of surgery dealing with wounds and disability from injuries (12)
35. Ocular pain caused by light (9) 36. Caprine arthritis-encephalitis (1.1.1) 37. Continuing Nurse Education (1.1.1) 38. A foot covering (4) 39. People of Ireland (5) 40. Having a foul smell (6) 41. Lymphangioscintigraphy (3) 42. Lack of clear or adequate communication (16) Down 1. The attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman objects (16) 2. Pertaining to a roof-like structure or cover (9) 3. Covered with water, flooded (9) 4. Oxygen enhancement ratio (1.1.1) 5. The part of the brain that receives and coordinates all the stimuli conveyed to various sensory centres (9) 6. Symbol for cadmium (2) 7. The self (3) 8. Ulcers of late secondary syphilis, covered with yellowish or brown crusts (5)
9. The feeling of mistrust of a person who suspects (9) 10. Beneath a nail (9) 14. The structure seen in a prostaglandin where two segments of the molecule fold back on one another (7) 16. Stannum (3) 22. A condition causing development of a large, bulbous nose commonly due to untreated rosacea (10) 23. A type of edible nut (9) 25. A form of asexual reproduction; budding (9) 27. Pictures or concepts with more or less likeness to the objectives’ reality (6) 28. Any seaweed (4) 29. Poisons (6) 31. Recurrent laryngeal nerve (1.1.1) 32. Urinary Incontinence (1.1) 33. Eyes with a single lens (6) 34. French bacteriologist who discovered the plague bacillus (6) 38. Streptokinase (1.1) THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 41
LIONS NURSES’ SCHOLARSHIP
The trustees of the Lions Nurses’ Scholarship Foundation invite applications for scholarships. Nurses eligible for these scholarships must be resident and employed within the State of NSW or ACT.
Looking for funding to2017? further your studies in
You must currently be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and working within the nursing profession in NSW or the ACT, and must have a minimum of three years’ experience in the nursing profession – the last twelve months of which must have been spent in NSW or the ACT. Details of eligibility and the scholarships available (which include study projects either within Australia or overseas), and application forms are available from: www.nswnma.asn.au/education
holarships open The Lions Nurses’ Sc ar 31 October each ye on e os cl d an t us on 1 Aug
Administration Liaison Lions Nurses’ Scholarship Foundation 50 O’Dea Avenue Waterloo NSW 2017 or contact Matt West on 1300 367 962 or education@nswnma.asn.au
Completed applications must be in the hands of the secretary no later than 31 October Lion Nurses Scholarship.indd 1
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The ANMF Federal Office Financial Report for the year ended 30 June 2016 is now available at www.anmf.org.au Members without internet access may obtain a hard copy of the report by applying in writing to: Federal Finance Officer ANMF Level 1, 365 Queen Street Melbourne VIC 3000
42 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 ANMF Financial Report notice.indd 1
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BOOK ME All the latest Book Me reviews from The Lamp can be read online at www.nswnma.asn.au/library-services/book-reviews. LISTENING, LEARNING, CARING AND COUNSELLING Dr C Howell Exisle Publishing Ltd (available from Booktopia): http://www.bookotopia.com.au RRP $39.99. ISBN 9781925335040 This book is a thorough, authoritative guide for all working professionals. At the centre of any caring roles is listening attentively to the concerns, narratives and needs of others. But to develop the skills of listening, learning, caring and counselling (LLCC) you need support and training. Written by an experienced and awarded psychologist, Listening, Learning, Caring and Counselling is an authoritative, comprehensive guide full of ideas and techniques designed to fill that role.
CHANGING BEHAVIOUR IN DBT Heidi Heard and Michaela Swales Guildford Press (available from Booktopia) http://www.booktopia. com.au RRP $64.00. ISBN 9781462522644 This book delves into problem solving, one of the core components of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). The authors are leading DBT trainers who elucidate the therapy’s principles of behaviour change and use case examples to illustrate their effective application. Particular attention is given to common pitfalls that therapists encounter in analysing target behaviours.
ARCHIEVING COMPETENCIES FOR NURSING PRACTICE – A HANDBOOK FOR STUDENT NURSES Sheila Reading and Brian Webster, McGraw Hill (available from McGraw Hill): www. mheducation.com.au. RRP $57.95. ISBN 9780826196668
Quality patient care relies on the demonstration of competencies by nurses at all stages of their education and developing career. This exciting textbook is designed to help student nurses better understand the competencies set out by the NMC and equip them to achieve and demonstrate competency as they prepare to qualify as a nurse. The book is divided into sections that address the four domains of competency: professional values, communication and interpersonal skills, nursing practice and decision making and leadership, management and team working. Suitable for all student nurses on pre-registration degree programs in nursing.
DISCOUNT BOOKS FOR MEMBERS! The Library is pleased to announce that McGraw Hill Publishers are now offering members a 25% discount off the RRP! The offer currently covers medical as well as a range of other professional series books. Please see the online Book Me reviews for a link to the promotion code and further instructions, or contact the Library directly for further information.
SPECIAL INTEREST FAREWELL TO THE FATHER – A MEMOIR OF LOVE AND MADNESS Tim Elliott Pan MacMillan
(available from Booktopia) http://www.booktopia.com.au RRP $34.99. ISBN 9781743537893 Following from a memorable piece he wrote about his father’s depression for the Good Weekend magazine, Elliott has now written a bravely honest memoir that fleshes out the family story and amplifies his father’s history of mental illness. It begins with a disturbingly arresting scene in which the whole family is party to Tim’s father’s first suicide attempt, a moment of ghastly drama for seven-year-old Tim. What follows is an account written with great love and understanding and that provides tremendous insight for anyone caught up in the vortex of bipolar disorder.
MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING IN THE TREATMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS (2ND EDITION) Edited by Hal Arkowitz, William R Miller, Stephen Rollnick, Guildford Press:
(available from Booktopia) http://www.booktopia.com.au, RRP $99.00. ISBN 9781462521036 This authoritative guide has given tens of thousands of clinicians proven tools for helping clients resolve ambivalence and mobilise their energy, commitment, and personal resources for change. Leading experts describe ways to combine motivational interviewing (MI) with other treatments for a wide range of psychological problems, including depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and others.
All books can be ordered through the publisher or your local bookshop. NSWNMA members can borrow the books featured here via the Library’s Online Catalogue: visit http://www.nswnma.asn.au/library-services. Call 8595 1234 or 1300 367 962, or email gensec@nswnma.asn.au for assistance with loans or research. Some books are reviewed using information supplied and have not been independently reviewed. THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 43
Update your membership details online & go into the draw to
win a smart watch IT’S EASY! Log into the Association’s online portal at www.nswna.asn.au to check your membership details are correct. Do this at a time that suits you and your name will automatically go in the draw to WIN AN APPLE OR ANDROID SMART WATCH*! For a chance to win, simply register with your membership number, name and email address and create your own password. Then use your member number and password to log in directly to the Members login area on the website. You can now change your details at any time – address, workplace, credit card number, mobile number, etc. You can pay fees online, print a tax statement or request a reprint of your membership card – IT’S SIMPLE. All those who use our online portal from 1 July – 30 November 2016 will be automatically entered into the draw.
*The winner will be able to select one of these watches. Winner must be a financial member of the NSWNMA.
Membership online via www.nswnma.asn.au 44 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
MOVIES OF THE MONTH
METROMEMBER GIVEAWAY
RURAL MEMBER GIVEAWAY DVD
Joe Cinque’s Consolation JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION is a complex and macabre love story that has something to say about mental illness says Cathie Montgomery. In OCTOBER 1997, a clever young law student at ANU made a bizarre plan to murder her devoted boyfriend after a farewell dinner party at their house. Some of the guests, most of them uni students, heard her talk about the plan. None of them warned Joe Cinque. He died on a Sunday morning, in his own bed, from a massive dose of Rohypnol and heroin. His girlfriend was charged with his murder. This film is based on Australian author Helen Garner’s book of the same title, that she wrote following the Supreme Court trial in the ACT. The film adaptation removes the author from the story and introduces the viewer to Joe (Jerome Meyer) and Anu (Maggie Naouri) at their first meeting in 1994. Filmed in picturesque Canberra, a mixture of ‘observational vignettes’ follow, comparing their intimacy with their social dinner parties. Anu talks of killing Joe as revenge for making her ill. This complex and somewhat macabre love story shows the emotional intensity of Anu, and her unravelling, but encourages the audience to form their
own conclusion. The destruction of Canberra Hospital and subsequent death of an observer play out in the background to Anu’s murder plan. People failed Anu – from the University psychologist to family and friends – yet they were all aware something was amiss. Joe’s attempts to help her are admirable but irritating and her best friend, Madhavi, is a little too unwholesome in her willingness to assist Anu. This movie asks questions about conscience, culpability and the ideal of ‘a duty of care’. Joe Cinque’s Consolation is a film for mental health awareness and encourages people to ask ‘Are you Ok?’. Cathie Montgomery is a CNS in operating theatres at Concord Hospital.
EMAIL The Lamp BY THE 12TH OF THE MONTH TO BE IN THE DRAW TO WIN A DOUBLE PASS TO JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION THANKS TO TITAN VIEW. EMAIL YOUR NAME, MEMBERSHIP NUMBER, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER TO lamp@nswnma.asn.au FOR A CHANCE TO WIN!
REBELLION SEASON ONE REBELLION is a five-part drama that tells the story of the violent birth of modern Ireland, exploring the emergence of a new state during one of the most disruptive and terrifying periods in history. The drama begins with the outbreak of World War One. As expectations of a short and glorious campaign are dashed, extremism comes to the fore as social stability – the very fabric of life – erodes. How do people react? Some prioritise family loyalties. Others take sides. Motivated by the noblest of ideals or opportunism, some take up arms, prepared to sacrifice everything for the dream of a better society. We see the tumultuous events through the eyes of men, women and children from Dublin, Galway, Belfast and London. There are winners and losers, loves and losses. The series stars Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones) Niamh Cusack (Heartbeat), Brian Gleeson (Love/Hate), Charlie Murphy (Happy Valley), Sara Greene (Vikings), Ruth Bradley (Humans), Gus McDonagh (Love/Hate) and Michelle Fairley (Suits, Fortitude). EMAIL THE LAMP BY THE 15TH OF THIS MONTH TO BE IN THE DRAW TO WIN A DVD OF REBELLION SEASON ONE THANKS TO RLJ ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES. EMAIL YOUR NAME, MEMBERSHIP NUMBER, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER TO LAMP@NSWNMA.ASN.AU FOR A CHANCE TO WIN! THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 | 45
COVER STORY DIARY DATES — CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, MEETINGS DIARY DATES IS A FREE SERVICE FOR MEMBERS Please send event details in the format used here: event name, date and location, contact details – by the 5th of each month. Send your event details to: lamp@nswnma.asn.au Fax 02 9662 1414 Post 50 O’Dea Ave, Waterloo NSW 2017. All listings are edited for the purposes of style and space. Priority is given to non-profit professional events.
DIARY DATES IS A FREE SERVICE FOR MEMBERS lamp @ nswnma.asn.au NSW Wounds – A Team Approach 8 October, Liverpool Hospital Dianne Carr: diannecarr@bigpond.com; (03) 9696 1210 Transforming Our Landscape – Palliative Care NSW Conference 13-15 October, Broken Hill www.palliativecarensw.org.au Pain Interest Group Nursing Issues - Reframing Pain Professional Development Day 21 October, Le Montage, Sydney www.dcconferences.com.au/pigni2016 PANDDA Disability Nurses Conference 26 - 27 October, Novotel Hotel Parramatta www.pandda.net/conference/ Audiometry Nurses Association of Australia Annual Conference/AGM 26-28 October Quality Noahs on the Beach, Newcastle anaa.asn.au Bones on the Beach Orthopaedic Conference 29 October Juliana Zvavanjanja: 024222 5966 or zvisinei. zvavanjanja@health.nsw.gov.au Nalda Ward: 024222 5811 or nalda.ward@health. nsw.gov.au Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium 2- 4 November Mantra on Salt Beach, Kingscliff www.anzmh.asn.au/rrmh High Dependency Nursing Conference 4 November, Westmead Hospital Katherine.Schaffarczyk@health.nsw.gov.au Perioperative Nursing Seminar 12 November, Rydges Parramatta, Rosehill www.acutecareeducation.com.au/seminar/ perioperative-nursing-seminar-sydney-nsw-4/ Australian Women’s Health Nurse Association 30-Year Inservice 17-18 November, Carrington Hotel, Katoomba Jenny.Bath@hneheath.nsw.gov.au ‘Building Blocks of Critical Care’ Adult & Paediatric Seminar 18 November University of NSW www.acccn.com.au/events/event/nsw-criticalcare-seminar-18-november-2016 Perioperative Nursing Seminar 26 November, Mercure Wagga Wagga www.acutecareeducation.com.au/seminar/ perioperative-nursing-seminar-wagga-waggansw-2/ 26th Nepean Midwifery Conference 10 March 2017 Hawkesbury Valley Race Club, Clarendon Juanita Taylor: 0417 123 900 Resus at the Park 1-2 June 2017, Luna Park, Sydney http://resusatthepark.org.au/ 4th International Collaboration of Perianaesthesia Nurses [ICPAN] Conference 1-4 November 2017, Luna Park, Sydney www.icpan2017.com.au
INTERSTATE International Conference for Emergency Nurses 19-21 October, Alice Springs Convention Centre www.2016.icen.com.au 42nd International Mental Health Nursing Conference
46 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016
25 – 27 October Adelaide Convention Centre www.acmhn2016.com/ The National Nursing Forum 26-28 October Melbourne Park Function Centre www.acn.edu.au/nnf2016 Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International Conference 26-28 October InterContinental The Rialto, Melbourne www.latrobe.edu.au/jlc/news-events/NNVAWIConference-2016 Hospital in The Home (HITH) 9th Annual Scientific Meeting 2016 2-4 November Stamford Grand, Glenelg, Adelaide www.conference.hithsociety.org.au Clinical Nursing & Nurse Education 2016 7-9 November, Melbourne www.clinical.nursingconference.com Asia Pacific Coroners’ Society Conference 8-11 November Pan Pacific Perth, Western Australia www.dcconferences.com.au/apcsc2016/; 02 9954 4400 or apcsc2016@dcconferences.com.au ACPAN National Conference 12 November 2016, Park Hyatt, Melbourne, VIC www.acpan.edu.au 5th Closing the Gap Indigenous Health Conference and 2016 World Indigenous Allied Health Conference 1-3 December 2016 Pullman Cairns International Hotel, Cairns www.indigenousconferences.com
INTERNATIONAL 5th International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector 26-28 October, Dublin, Ireland www.oudconsultancy.nl/dublin_5_ICWV/index. html Emergency Care Conference 6-10 February 2017, Hokkaido, Japan www.emsconferences.com.au
REUNIONS Sydney Hospital Graduate Nurses Lunch 4 October Parliament House, Macquarie Street Jeanette Fox: 024751 4829 or bekysa@tpg.com.au Metro Residences Farewell Gala Dinner 6 October, Waterview , Bicentennial Park, Sydney Gaylene Maurangi: gaylene.maurangi@facs.nsw. gov.au or 0293340646 St Vincent’s Darlinghurst PTS Class March 1976-1979 40-year reunion 22 October Kerrie Maher: kerriefmaher@hotmail.com or 0408464903 Waratah House 30th Birthday Party Campbelltown Mental Health 22 October Troy Kiefer: troykiefer@sswahs.nsw.gov.au All PHH and NEC Nurses All Years & 50 year Reunion 29 October Nurses War Memorial Chapel, PHH Museum Margaret Paterson (President PHHNA): 0290190784 or lindapaterson@live.com.au Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium 2-4 November Kingscliff NSW
anzmh.asn.au/rrmh/registration/ Lewisham Hospital Graduate Nurses Association Annual Lunch 5 November at Ryde Chris Majewski 0401 866 377 chris.majewski@bunzl.com.au Luke Bohun 4371 7098 lukebohun@netkey.com.au Australian Women’s Health Nurses Association 30-year Reunion Dinner 18 November Carrington Hotel, Katoomba Jenny Bath: Jenny.Bath@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au St Vincent’s Darlinghurst PTS Class January 1977 40 year reunion Mary Piechowski (nee Morris):piechow@grapevine. com.au Anne Barudi (nee Whelan):annebarudi@ optusnet.com.au Tamworth Base Hospital February 1976 intake 40-year reunion Contacts: Sandra Cox: sandra.cox@hnehealth.nsw Sean O’Connor: 0408 349 126 Gerard Jeffery: 0417 664 993 Auburn Hospital October 1976-1979 40th Reunion Sharon Byers: 0419 144 965 or sbyers01@bigpond. net.au Margaret Borg (Mueller): 0431 159 964 or margaret_borg@bigpond.com Royal Prince Alfred Hospital January 1977 (including Rachel Foster Hospital) 40-year Reunion 3 Day Comedy Cruise P&O Pacific Pearl; Cruise Number: P207 Booking Reference: GNVQXN Departs Sydney - 27 January 2017 Contact Michele Kristidis (nee ‘Lee’ Sweeney): michelekristidis@hotmail.com RAHC Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children PTS 1977 – 40-year Reunion 4-5 February 2017 Coleen Holland (Argall): bobandcolh@yahoo. com.au St Vincent’s Darlinghurst PTS Class March 1977 – 40-year Reunion 25 March 2017 Frances O’Connor (nee Pugh): 0415764131 or fgoconnor@optusnet.com.au 25 year reunion: 1992 UWS Nepean Graduating Class July 2017, Sydney, NSW Bede McKinnon: bede01@bigpond.com
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COVER STORY
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firststatesuper.com.au | 1300 650 873 Consider our product disclosure statement before making a decision about First State Super. Call us or visit our website for a copy. FSS Trustee Corporation 48 | THE LAMP OCTOBER 2016 ABN 11 118 202 672 ASFL 293340 is the trustee of the First State Superannuation Scheme ABN 53 226 460 365.