The Lamp June 2007

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lamp the

magazine of the NSW Nurses’ Association

volume 64 no.5 June 2007

Print Post Approved: PP241437/00033

P U D N A T S NURSES

Y T E F A FOR S

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2 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

APPLES 04/07

How to get there

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ABOUT THE LAMP

C O N T E N T S

Contacts NSW NURSES’ ASSOCIATION For all membership enquiries and assistance, including Lamp subscriptions and change of address, contact our Sydney office. SYDNEY OFFICE 43 Australia Street Camperdown NSW 2050 PO Box 40 Camperdown NSW 1450 (all correspondence) T 8595 1234 (metro) 1300 367 962 (non-metro) F 9550 3667 E gensec@nswnurses.asn.au W www.nswnurses.asn.au HUNTER OFFICE 120 Tudor Street Hamilton NSW 2303 ILLAWARRA OFFICE L1, 63 Market Street Wollongong NSW 2500

Cover story

LAMP THE

VOLUME NO *UNE

Nurses stand up for safety 12

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Cover Cheryl Froude, RN (left) and Liz McCall, NUM, Byron District Hospital Photography by Gary Chigwidden

NSWNA COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Noel Hester T 8595 2153 NSWNA COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT Russell Burns T 8595 1219 For all Lamp editorial enquiries, letters and diary dates: Editorial Enquiries T 8595 1234 E lamp@nswnurses.asn.au M PO Box 40 Camperdown NSW 1450

News in brief

International nurses’ day

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32 A day of fun – and quality

THE LAMP PRODUCED BY Lodestar Communications T 9698 4511

Profile

PRESS RELEASES Send your press releases to: T 9550 3667 E gensec@nswnurses.asn.au

Nurses encouraged to join general practice Cutting-edge facilities for UTS nursing students 9 UK nurses ready for a fight 9 $5 appeal to house Timor nurses 11 Acknowledging mental health workers 11 Did you work with Finola Tuite at Gladesville?

NSWNA education program 11 What’s on this month

Aged care 16 Nurses pay for safety in aged care

Agenda 18 Rudd’s IR plan sharpens the choice 19 WorkChoices is unfair, says Howard 21 What nurses say on IR

Industrial issues 22 Bucking the cost-cutting trend 23 New agreement at Family Planning NSW 27 IR shorts

Workloads 24 Barraba battles to keep designated on-call nurse 25 More staff for Ballina 25 Workloads tool approved for small hospitals

Nurses getting active 28 Rockin’ for workers’ rights 30 Keeping up the pressure 31 Local action at Tweed Heads delivers big results

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35 Lana Donaldson: A tireless worker for nurses

Lifestyle 39 Members’ tips 40 Movie reviews 45 Book me

Obituaries 42 Kaye Melmeth: An extraordinary woman who set standards for all flight nurses 42 Sonia Pascual Napiza: Always there for her patients and friends

Regular columns 5

Editorial by Brett Holmes 6 Your letters to The Lamp 37 Ask Judith 47 Our nursing crossword 48 Diary dates

Competition 43 Win the perfect pair of fashionable and comfortable Ecco Shoes for work

Giveaways 41 100 double passes to see I Do, 50 double passes to Driving Lessons and 30 double passes to Clubland

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THE LAMP EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Brett Holmes, NSWNA General Secretary Judith Kiejda, NSWNA Assistant General Secretary Coral Levett, NSWNA President John Lyons, Coonabarabran District Hospital Jonathan Farry, RPA Hospital Mark Kearin, Wyong Hospital Roz Norman, Tamworth Base Hospital Stephen Metcalfe, Lismore Base Hospital Therese Riley, St George Hospital ADVERTISING Patricia Purcell T 8595 2139 or 0416 259 845 F 9550 3667 E ppurcell@nswnurses.asn.au RECORDS AND INFORMATION CENTRE - LIBRARY To find old articles in The Lamp, or to borrow from the NSWNA library’s nursing and health collection, contact: Jeannette Bromfield, RIC Coordinator T 8595 2175 E gensec@nswnurses.asn.au THE LAMP ISSN: 0047-3936 General disclaimer The Lamp is the official magazine of the NSWNA. Views expressed in articles are contributors’ own and not necessarily those of the NSWNA. 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 NSWNA takes no responsibility for the advertising appearing herein and it does not necessarily endorse any products advertised. Privacy Privacy statement: The NSWNA 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 NSWNA office. If you are still not satisfied that your privacy is being maintained you can contact the Privacy Commission. Subscriptions Free to all Association members. Ex-members can subscribe to the magazine at a reduced rate of $44. THE LAMP JUNE 2007 Individuals $60, Institutions $90, Overseas $100.3

NSWNA announces its new Direct Debit Travel Prize!

WIN A TRIP FOR 2 TO THE GLORIOUS SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND!

Dr 30 awn J 200une 7

Fly in to Christchurch where you will pick up your hire car courtesy of Hertz, for your 8 day visit. This prize allows you to choose where you want to go on this majestic island – places such as Queenstown, Dunedin & Milford Sound. Prize includes a 7 night Gold Hotel Pass, including one night at the Warners Historic Hotel in Christchurch.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GET ONE OR MORE CHANCES TO WIN Q cancel your payroll deductions and start paying your fees through

direct debit and you will go in the lucky draw. Q convince your colleagues to convert from payroll deductions to direct debit and you, and each of your colleagues who switch to direct debit, will go in the lucky draw. Q sign up a new member using the direct debit method of paying their fees and you, and the new member, will go in the lucky draw. 4 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

Membership Application Forms or Direct Debit forms can be downloaded from our website www.nswnurses.asn.au. Alternatively call the NSWNA on 8595 1234 (metro area) or 1300 367 962 (non-metro area) for more information.

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E D I T O R I A L BY BRETT HOLMES GENERAL SECRETARY

Howard’s fairness test is a sham g Howard’s ‘fairness test’ does nothing to undo the unfairness of his federal IR laws.

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n recent weeks the already intense debate about the federal government’s IR laws has gone up a notch with the release of the Labor party’s workplace policy and the ensuing hysterical response by business groups and adjustments to the laws by the government. One thing is clear: two years of campaigning by union members against these unfair laws has made both major parties sit up and take notice. Mr Howard has moved to quell the rebellion with a backflip that, he contends, will ensure employees are not disadvantaged when they move on to individual contracts. An analysis by the ACTU argues the truth is quite different (see story p 18). According to Mr Howard, under his new changes every single AWA and collective agreement made after 7 May 2007 will be checked to make sure it is ‘fair’ and that employees are compensated for every condition stripped away. Since WorkChoices was introduced, 306,000 AWAs and 2,862 non-union collective agreements have been approved by federal government agencies. To scrutinise these agreements and ensure any trade-off is compensated for is a massive job and it won’t be done. Any unfairness for these workers will stay in place. Independent legal experts say it would require thousands of new employees to adequately police this quantity of agreements and the thousands more lodged each week. Yet, in Peter Costello’s budget, the Office of Employment Advocate, already a toothless tiger, will be reduced by 57 people.

It is early evidence that the so-called ‘fairness test’ is a sham. A close look at the fine print of Mr Howard’s changes reveals you may not get compensation for losing all your entitlements if your employer says they can’t afford it, or where the offer of a job is deemed sufficient compensation, or where you are provided with something

In contrast, Labor has produced an industrial relations policy that is underpinned by these fundamental rights, which are consistent with international norms. In particular, the right to collectively bargain is seen elsewhere, if not by the Howard government, as a core feature of a democratic society. Labor is to be commended for getting the policy out early for analysis and debate. We should remember that the Liberal Party gave us no such opportunity to examine their radical laws before the last election. We should take with a grain of salt the hysterical reaction to Labor’s policy from the business lobby groups and their cheer leaders in the media. The Howard government’s workplace laws were designed to facilitate a fundamental shift of power in the workplace in favour of employers at the expense of employees. It is to be expected that employers will kick and scream to maintain this power. The biggest issue to come out of this latest development on the IR front is one of credibility. For over two years Mr Howard and his party have accused the union movement of lies and deceit because of our strong campaign against the laws. In fact, this union was lambasted in such a fashion by the Liberal party during the state election for voicing such concerns. Now they are conceding that, yes, the laws were always unfair. Until there is a complete rewrite of these federal industrial laws there is no chance that workers’ rights will be regained or even a level of true fairness can be established in our workplaces. For those members currently protected in the NSW State IR system, we must never abandon the almost 20,000 nurse members in the grips of the federal industrial laws.n

Labor is to be commended for getting the policy out early for analysis and debate. We should remember that the Liberal Party gave us no such opportunity to examine their radical laws before the last election. you don’t need, like a pizza or movie tickets as compensation. Even if these changes were genuine they would be minimal and the essence of the original laws – an all-out attack on collective bargaining, the decent safety net of awards and the independent umpire – would remain intact.

THE LAMP JUNE 2007 5

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L E T T E R S

LETTER of the month Liz McCall

Branch overcame its greatest challenge NSWNA ROCKS! I have been a committed NSWNA activist for over 20 years, first as branch secretary and delegate at Sutherland Hospital and now Byron District Hospital. I believe implicitly in acting rather than whingeing and that was the commitment I made when I returned to full-time nursing/midwifery after the births of my children. Over the years I have had a conflicted relationship with the NSWNA due to factional issues that occur in any occupational group. Throughout this time I never gave up either believing in the greater good of the NSWNA for all nurses and midwives or my democratic right to dissent when I thought it appropriate. Regardless of my relationships within the NSWNA, I have never received anything but professional and committed assistance in branch matters from all the organisers appointed to our Health Service. Together we have achieved some great wins for our small rural hospital. The branch members have always been courageous when confronted with Health Service opposition and the NSWNA organisers and executive have given us great support. During the last three to four months this has culminated in the biggest challenge the branch has ever undertaken. It was an angst-ridden decision to place work bans on our emergency department and yet the members held firm, believing that a 24-hour security presence to ensure staff

and patient safety was worth the ethical soul-searching each nurse had to make. We have achieved a great win without having to enforce our work bans. We could not have done that without the heartfelt and professional support we received from the NSWNA. The NSWNA occupational health and safety department and legal department have given us great support over the years. I would like to thank Marny for her encouragement, negotiation skills and care, and Brett and Judith for their belief that our cause was valid and worth the fight. You have all been awesome and I continue to be proud to be an activist for such an excellent union. Liz McCall , NUM & Branch Secretary/ Delegate, Byron District Hospital Liz McCall won the prize for this month’s letter of the month, a $50 David Jones voucher.

LETTER of the month The letter judged the best each month will be awarded a $50 David Jones voucher, courtesy Medicraft, Australia’s largest manufacturer of hospital beds and furniture. For more information on Medicraft, visit www.medicraft.com.au or call 9569 0255.

THE TROUBLE WITH TUESDAYS You may be finding it hard to talk to our information officers on Tuesdays. This is because Tuesday is the one day of the week when all our staff are in the office for staff and team meetings. These meetings are essential for information distribution and planning activities. If at all possible, please don’t ring on this day as there can be considerable delays. But if you need urgent assistance, you will get it. Our information department receives approximately 900 calls per week and the phones are ringing hot from 8am to 5.30pm. We are working hard to meet your needs and thank you for your patience. Call 8595 1234 (metro) or 1300 367 962 (non-metro). 6 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

Dianne McKillop

Rising dissatisfaction in aged care Hi from Albury-Wodonga. My interview with our local politician, Susan Ley, before the introduction of the IR laws was a reminder of the vagueness of the new laws and politicians’ lack of understanding of how the laws would affect nurses. Behind the scenes, the IR laws have had an impact on aged care nursing. The introduction of PCAs with no formal qualification has become the norm. As nurses and AINs leave positions, they are not being replaced by qualified people. There is an ongoing concern that this will leave many aged care nurses jobless. Rural areas are suffering severe drought and I guess attention to nurses and their work is of little interest to politicians – and yet there is a groundswell of dissatisfaction arising in our field. Who is listening to us and does anyone care? Dianne McKillop, EN, Lutheran Aged Care Albury Editor’s response: The NSWNA plans to run a public information campaign about aged care this year.

Alison Zecchin

Thought-provoking weekend I am writing to express my gratitude to General Secretary Brett Holmes and the NSW Nurses’ Association for the Leaders Forum held at Terrigal over the weekend of 28-29 April 2007. Having been a nurse for approximately 23 years, I found the weekend inspiring. We are moving through some challenging times for nursing and healthcare but it is essential that as leaders we take forward the concepts that we discussed at the forum. Alison Zecchin DON, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital

Got something to say?

Send your letters to: Editorial Enquiries email lamp@nswnurses.asn.au fax 9550 3667 mail PO Box 40 Camperdown NSW 1450 Please include a photograph along with your name, address, phone and membership number. Letters may be edited for clarity and space.

Rose Pitman

Different perspectives on vaccination Thank you Aster Haskas for your response to the vaccination issue (‘Reality check on vaccinations’ The Lamp page 6 May 2007). There are always so many different perspectives – the sick baby with Pertussis, the overtime, staff shortages, adverse reactions to vaccinations and the financial and community costs of supporting those with ongoing health problems after being vaccinated. Regarding the Pertussis epidemic – as reported in the newspaper at the time – is it true that the nurses in this case had been vaccinated against whooping cough? Could it be that the reason they worked in the NICU after developing symptoms was that they were not diagnosed for some time because they were vaccinated and therefore considered ‘protected’? Rose Pitman, RN, Lismore

Jennifer Calov-Dalton

Missing out on continuing education allowance What great news of extra pay for continuing education. How sad I cannot claim my associate diploma in community health nursing gained in 1987. This qualification doesn’t fit the criteria. Is anyone else in the same boat? There must be, as the group I started with at Cumberland College numbered over 100. Yes, I phoned the relevant personnel at GSAHS who said I did not qualify and not to go to the Nurses’ Association. Well, I did and was advised to submit my application for determination by the Department of Health. Six months later the news is out: ‘Extra Pay for Continuing Education’. So what has happened to my application? Many, many phone calls later to the Department of Health, I was told to resubmit to the Department of Health for determination. More months have passed and more phone calls.

The GSAHS personnel were concerned if there were any more nurses with my qualification in the service who are not being paid. Please help. Jennifer Calov-Dalton, Generalist Community Nurse, Batemans Bay Community Health Editor’s response: Unfortunately there have been a number of applications for payment of the CEA for Associate Diplomas undertaken before the current Australian Qualification Framework hierarchy of postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and masters degree was introduced around 1994. The Association is currently seeking recognition of those associate diploma qualifications by the Health Department for payment of the CEA.

Menna Davies

Insulted by educators’ omission While congratulating the Association on winning certificate allowances for Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS), I am very disappointed that Clinical Nurse Educators (CNE) and Nurse Educators (NE) have not been included. I feel it was short sighted of the Association not to include all classifications of RNs in this latest round of claims and am concerned about possible ramifications of this omission. I fear that we may lose some CNEs who will step out of their role and seek to gain a CNS position which attracts the certificate allowance. In addition, how are we to attract RNs into CNE positions when there is now even less financial incentive than before to move into an education role? CNEs I have spoken to are disillusioned and insulted that they have been ignored and not acknowledged professionally or financially for the efforts they have made in gaining postgraduate qualifications, often in education subjects which they draw upon each day. CNSs certainly play their part in providing education and clinical support, but they already carry a heavy workload and it is the CNEs who are the life blood of our hospitals, nurturing our next generation of nurses. If we want to recruit and retain nurses, there is need for a consistent level of support which is provided by CNEs. I do not wish to be fobbed off by statements that ‘negotiations are already un-

derway between NSWNA and NSW Health’ on educator classifications and allowances (The Lamp, April). I am not filled with any great optimism that there will be a speedy resolution which involves NSW Health putting their hands in their pockets. I seem to remember being requested to write letters in support of the educators’ reclassification a year ago. How long are we going to wait until we see some parity occurring for CNEs and NEs? I urge the Association to step up their efforts to gain certificate allowances for CNEs and NEs. It is not a time for CNSs to sit back satisfied that they have had a win – I call on you to write to NSW Health in support of CNEs. Menna Davies, CNC The Prince of Wales/Sydney Children’s Hospital Editor’s response: Payment of the CEA to the clinical nurse educator classification was included in the Association’s claim when the IRC reviewed the CEA provisions. That claim was not granted by the IRC but instead the IRC recommended that it be dealt with under the current review of the CN/ME classification. The review of the CN/ME classification began in 2006. However the Association could not finalise the claim for a new salary structure until we knew the outcome of the CEA case before the IRC. The Association has now served a claim for a three-year salary structure and payment of the CEA to the CN/ME classification on the Health Department for their formal response. The nurse /midwifery educator classification was not included in the CEA claim because nurse/ midwifery educators already received compensation for additional qualifications by way of accelerated entry onto the nurse/ midwifery educator pay scale at the 3rd year rate. As part of the review process the Association has served a claim on the Health Department for a new three-grade classification structure aligned to the pay rates for the CN/MC. The claim includes payment for additional qualifications above a tertiary certificate. The July Lamp will carry a story on this issue.

EVERY LETTER PUBLISHED

RECEIVES A DELIGHTFUL

ABC CLASSICS CD –

FOR UPLIFTING ENJOYMENT! ABC Shops provide you with a window into the wonderful variety of programs seen and heard on ABC Radio, TV and online by offering a range of quality DVDs, books, music and audio products. For locations, visit abcshop.com.au THE LAMP JUNE 2007 7

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N E W S I INN BBRRI IEEFF

NURSES ENCOURAGED TO JOIN GENERAL PRACTICE he Riverina Division of Practice and Primary Health recently held a free program, training nurses to work in general practices. The program was specifically aimed at registered and enrolled nurses who had not worked for up to five years or who were planning to leave the profession. ‘The program stems from an initiative of the Federal Department of Health and Aging, aiming to boost opportunities for rural and remote nurses, by training them as general practice nurses,’ said Liz Meadley the Program Manager of Nursing in General Practice, at the Alliance of NSW Divisions. ‘In 2005 funds were made available to state-based organisations to try and boost the number of general practice nurses and to expand the skills of nurses already in such roles.’ Program Officer for the Riverina Division, Maggie Ellen, said that response to the program was very good: ‘We had over 60 nurses apply for the program and many have indicated that their friends are keen – this is a great chance to grow via networking.’ The program was held in Wagga Wagga and in light of the success of the week organisers hope this pilot program will grow into an ongoing one. ‘We are addressing why nurses have left the system and exposing them to general practice options which are often more family-friendly in light of hours and flexibility,’ said Maggie Ellen. ‘Nurses have always worked in general practises but now they have bigger duties than simply answering phones. This week-long course trains nurses in a many different areas – we hope to boost their confidence and encourage them to apply for general practice positions.’

Cutting-edge facilities for UTS nursing students

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ursing students at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) will have access to new hi-tech labs and state-of-the-art technology with the new educational facilities recently opened by the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health.

‘These simulation facilities will complement the placement of nurses and midwives in hospitals for their education.’ ‘This year we will integrate new technologies into our undergrad courses making us one of the leaders in the application of new technologies in nursing and midwifery in Australia,’ said UTS Dean of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, Professor Jill White.

Hi-tech equipment and mannequins at the new UTS labs.

The new facilities include three new labs with video equipment and advanced mannequins, offices for clinical research chairs, and communal spaces for research students. The mannequins simulate the symptoms of real medical conditions, even childbirth. ‘To meet health workforce demands, UTS has increased the number of nurses and midwives it is educating. ‘These simulation facilities will complement the placement of nurses and midwives in hospitals for their education,’ said Professor White. n

UK NURSES READY FOR $5 appeal to house A FIGHT Timor nurses

ritish nurses are seething over a UK government decision to effectively cut their pay while awarding massive increases to doctors. The ‘New Labour’ government will give consultant doctors a 27% rise on top of a big increase in payments to GPs. Nurses are to get a staged pay increase in 2007-08 – 1.5% from April followed by 1% in November. With inflation running at 4.2%, this equates to a loss of £720 (A$1,730) a year for a typical registered nurse earning £24,841 (A$69,336). More than 11,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) had written protest letters to MPs when this issue of The Lamp went to press. Almost 20% of MPs – including many Labour members – have signed an appeal to the government for a better deal for nurses. Morale in the National Health Service – already at rock bottom before the pay announcement – will dip even further, the RCN predicted. An editorial in the RCN’s Nursing Standard, headed ‘Industrial action is justified’ said politicians’ double standards had led to an unprecedented wave of militant feeling among nurses. It said that despite all New Labour’s promises‘, nurses are back where they were in 1997 and 1998 – with a staged pay award and doctors given preferential treatment.’ ‘Consultant doctors and GPs may well be worth every penny of the extra financial rewards they have gained from this government. Most provide excellent care and treatment for patients, but then so do the thousands of nurses who have been in the forefront of Labour’s modernisation plan,’ Nursing Standard said. ‘If nurses decide to take industrial action, the public will support them in the full knowledge that nurses will find modes of action that do not put patients at risk – even in the face of such severe provocation.’

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ustralian nurses are being asked to pitch in to rehouse 81 East Timorese nurses who had their homes burned to the ground or destroyed by vandalism. Five dollars from every Australian nurse would be more than enough to build homes for the East Timorese nurses and their families. They are now living in tents in the grounds of the Dili hospital. Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation, Jill Iliffe, said the nurses’ homes were destroyed in gang violence last year. For some of the nurses, it was the second time they had lost their homes. The office of the Association of Nurses of Timor Leste in Dili was looted and equipment stolen. The ANF, supported by the NSW Nurses’ Association, is asking each nurse in Australia to donate $5. ‘This is such a small amount, but if just half the nurses in Australia donated $5 there would be more than enough money to assist the nurses to rebuild,’ she said. ‘Most nurses in East Timor do not have savings, they do not have the necessary collateral to secure a bank loan or the necessary income to repay a loan if it were available.’

The average income for a nurse in East Timor is A$188 per month. The ANF is conducting the appeal in association with APHEDA – Union Aid Abroad, the overseas aid arm of the union movement. Donations over $2 are tax deductible. Please make a donation now, by: 1. Online or at your local bank by transferring or depositing your donation to: Account name: APHEDA BSB: 082-024 Account Number: 578770001 National Australia Bank, World Square, Sydney NSW. Reference No: ANF (your name) 2. Online by clicking on https://secure. fantasticone.com/apheda/order_ form.php Follow the prompts to Section C: ‘Oneoff Donations and Appeals’. Select: ‘One-off donation East Timor Nurses Appeal’ from the drop-down menu. 3. By cheque or money order payable to: ‘APHEDA Inc’ Post to: Australian Nursing Federation, Level 1, 365 Queen Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000. If you require a receipt, please include your name and address. n

ANF Federal Secretary Jill Iliffe with nurses in East Timor. THE LAMP JUNE 2007 9

Members – Sign up a new member and go in the draw to win a fabulous trip to

NORFOLK ISLAND PRIZE INCLUDES; Return air fares with Nor folk Air from Sydney to Nor folk Island for two people 7 nights at Poinciana Cottages 7 days car hire Half Hour Hot Stone Massage per person Talpacific Holidays Convict Club Card offering gifts and discounts on shopping, touring & dining. WIN DAVID JONES VOUCHERS Once you have recruited 4 new members to the NSWNA, you will be awarded a $20 David Jones voucher, and for every member after that you’ll receive a further $5 voucher. It’s that easy! MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORMS HURRY – CALL THE ASSOCIATION NOW FOR YOUR RECRUITMENT KITS! PH: 8595 1234 (METROPOLITAN AREA) OR 1300 367 962 (NON-METROPOLITAN AREA) OR GO TO

www.nswnurses.asn.au

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COMPETITION CLOSES 30 JUNE 2007

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Acknowledging mental health workers

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he Mental Health Association of NSW is now taking nominations for their Mental Health Matters Awards, with presentations to coincide with Mental Health Week in October. The awards aim to recognise organisations and individuals who strive to improve the understanding and awareness of mental health in the community. There are 13 different categories including a Carer Award and a Government Organisation Award. Mental Health NSW is dedicated to raising the awareness and tolerance of mental health in society and sees the awards as a way to encourage people to continue to make a difference, despite the complexities that may surround mental health issues.

The awards are given to creative and persistent projects and people, committed to the cause despite existing obstacles and often limited funding. Nominees can be volunteers or employees working at local, regional or state levels. Previous recipients of the awards include Biripi Aboriginal Corporation (in the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander category) for their holistic framework towards mental health within the Aboriginal community in Taree. The NSWNA encourages nurses to consider their colleagues and workplaces for the Mental Health Matters Awards. For more information, go to www.mentalhealth.asn.au/campaigns/ awards.htm n

Did you work with Finola Tuite at Gladesville?

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rs Finola Tuite (maiden name Walsh), who worked at Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital in the early nineties, suffers from mesothelioma – the deadly asbestos disease. Lawyers representing Finola are keen to speak to anyone who worked with her. Finola is only 43 and has two small children. Since contracting mesothelioma she has had to give up work and has had several major operations including a

Finola Tuite

pleuropneumonectomy, a thoracotomy and 28 rounds of radiation therapy. She has been through a lot of pain. Finola worked in Ward 30 of the Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital between 1990 and 1992, moving to another ward in late 1992 and leaving the hospital entirely in 1993. During 1990 to 1992, the NSW Department of Health carried out extensive alterations and additions, including the removal of asbestos, to Ward 29, which was next to Ward 30. Finola’s lawyers wish to speak to anyone who worked with Finola and in particular to the following: Narelle Cooke, Bernie Fitzsimmons, Pam Pettit, Arthur Zasros, Mark Haldane, John Prior, Terry McKenna, Gordon Peck, Kathy McKenna, Si Te Yong, Cooleena Jong, Charlie Chang, Nanna Prada and Sandra Peck. If you know any of these people, or if you worked at Gladesville hospital between 1990 and 1992, please call Jaydon Burke Douglas on (02) 8833 2500. n

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cation progr u d e a am swn

WHAT’S ON IN JUNE 2007

s Improve your Health, Wellbeing & Waistline 13 & 27 June, Camperdown, 2 x 3 hours. This course aims to educate and provide you with the tools and motivation to make some small changes in your life and help improve your overall health. No matter what your health goals (to lose weight, recover from an injury or increase your energy) we guarantee you will learn something new to take with you for the rest of your life. Members $39.50 • Non-members $85 Branch Officials $28 s The Reality of Working Shiftwork 14 & 28 June, Camperdown, 2 x 2 hours. Why is working shiftwork so hard to manage? This seminar will look at the latest research on shiftwork and the findings of the Nurses Health Studies. Members $39.50 • Non-members $85 Branch Officials $28 s Legal & Professional Issues for Nurses 15 June, Parramatta, ½ day Topics covered include the Nurses and Midwives Act 1991, potential liability, documentation, role of disciplinary tribunals including the NMB, writing statements. Members $39.50 • Non-members $85 Branch Officials $28 s Stress Management for Nurses – NOW FREE 15 & 29 June, Liverpool, 2 x ½ days Intended to heighten awareness of mental health needs of nurses and proved useful exercises to assist nurses to manage stress at work. s Basic Foot Care for RNs & ENs 21-22 June, Liverpool, 2 days VETAB accredited course. Provides nurses with the competence to provide basic foot care. Members $203 • Non-members $350 Branch Officials $175 s Psychology of Smoking 22 June, Camperdown, ½ day Workshop designed for nursing staff to assist their patients to stop smoking based on current evidence-based research. Members $39.50 • Non-members $85 Branch Officials $28 For registration and more information: THE LAMP JUNE 2007 11 go to www.nswnurses.asn.au or ring Carolyn Kulling on 1300 367 962.

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NO C E W V ES R I SNT O BR Y I E F

We won’t be put in danger! g Byron nurses stand up to cost-cutters over security

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yron District Hospital nurses have refused to allow cost-cutting bureaucrats to put the security of staff and patients at risk. Backed by the union, the nurses forced North Coast Area Health Service (NCAHS) to re-employ a security officer on the afternoon shift. NCAHS had removed the security officer because of ‘insufficient funding’. This left a nurse working alone in the emergency department from 3pm to 10pm in an environment of increasing aggression towards staff especially by mental health patients. The NSW Nurses’ Association branch at the hospital decided to take industrial action to regain round-the-clock security coverage. The branch decided to: restrict triage to life-threatening or serious categories (all others would be diverted to other services and facilities); refuse to receive ambulances transporting mental health patients; and turn away drug and alcohol admissions by ambulance and police. 12 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

The union tried to settle the dispute with senior officers of NCAHS and the NSW Health, but got no result. Shortly before industrial bans were to start on 21 May, NSWNA General Secretary

last August by implementing the recommendations of a security review. These included putting a Health Security Assistant (HSA) on afternoon shift and designating wardsmen with

‘Incidents of aggression have became almost normal, and nurses don’t really talk about them much anymore.That’s a worrying development.’ Brett Holmes asked NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher to intervene. She instructed her department to immediately reinstate a security officer on afternoon shift. Byron Hospital has 26 beds but funding is restricted to staff sufficient for only 16 beds. There is a two-bed highdependency unit and an ED with three beds and one resuscitation bay. There are lots of elderly patients and an increasing population of homeless people and mental health patients. NSWNA branch secretary at the hospital, Liz McCall, said hospital management set out to improve security

security licences rostered on morning shift as HSAs. ‘However NCAHS overruled hospital management and ordered the changes be scrapped by 15 January,’ Liz said. ‘The Area said there wren’t sufficient funds to pay for the improvements. ‘Our union branch responded with a resolution explaining that additional security measures were essential in light of increased incidents of aggression in the ED. ‘We also pointed out that the CCTV camera in the ED didn’t work properly and had no recording facility.’

Members of the NSWNA Byron District Hospital branch.

Liz said area management eventually agreed to provide funding to pay the HSA a security loading on the morning shift and install a new camera with recorder. But management insisted there had not been enough incidents of aggression to justify putting a security officer on afternoons. ‘As far as we are concerned, one incident without adequate security backup is too many,’ Liz said. ‘How many incidents do you want before a nurse is hurt?’ She said Byron Bay was experiencing increasing numbers of homeless people living on the streets or in the bush, many with mental health disorders. There had been a corresponding increase in aggression and threats to nurses. ‘Incidents of aggression have became almost normal, and nurses don’t really talk about them much anymore. That’s a worrying development. ‘Byron once had a very good mental health acute care service but it’s been pared to the bone. ‘We used to admit mental health patients who didn’t really need to go to a psychiatric unit because we knew we had

Byron District Hospital nurses wrote to NCAHS to t h ad chief executive Chris a tie n p d r n a l a rticu o lic e Crawford, outlining e his pa ffed by p l T p ‘ o e 2. n d cu ree p incidents of aggression a h h t e y g b b tin dow n n d ic a and threats from patien taken transfer, i ts to .’ and explaining why the p r io r fa c e d y to n g er a d felt unsafe at work. eared e th n ap p th e o l i i t t a n u u The following are excerp h e s it a b ly s a f e T ce ‘ e i ts 3. ut a p aso n from four such letters: p b e re b ro u g h t o u d u lle nt p a tie a s s , p d to c u t 1. ‘The RN had luckily l g n ke rte o f b r o v e a n d s ta e.’ got herself out of the en m ee l a s e r s i h t t h d Emergency Department n hat , e lf a ned t h im s locking the door behind oncer ing c y her, r e be am v having to leave that per s are ted 4. ‘I son event accep ence.’ e n s a e h s kicking at the door, throw t i a e d p e ing ex r alis things around in the ED norm he nursing and t f part o yelling abuse.’

adequate backup – the acute care person would come in and settle the patient down. ‘Then the health service decided to cut the acute care service staff and put in a mental health 1300 access number instead.

‘How many incidents do you want before a nurse is hurt?’ ‘Mental health presentations in ED have accelerated since acute care staffing was reduced. Acute care staff are very frustrated by inadequate staffing which prevents them from properly caring for all their mental health clients.

‘People are no longer adequately cared for by community mental health so they are coming into ED.’ NSWNA Assistant General Secretary, Judith Kiejda, said the Byron Hospital branch had shown a keen sense of responsibility to their fellow nurses and patients by refusing to allow a lone nurse in ED to be put at risk for the sake of cost-cutting. ‘The situation at Byron Hospital was unworkable and unsafe for our members and patients. Our members tried to negotiate a solution but were met with bureaucratic resistance all the way,’ Judith said. n THE LAMP JUNE 2007 13

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NO C E W V ES R I SNT O BR Y I E F

Safety under the microscope g Union inspection follows threats to nurses

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ore than 50 security, occupational safety and other improvements, including safer ways of managing methadone patients, have been recommended for Inverell Hospital by a union inspection team. The union visit follows threats to nurses, including one episode of verbal aggression which led police to charge a patient with intimidation. The patient pleaded guilty to a charge of ‘stalk/intimidation with intent to cause fear of physical and/or mental harm’ and is awaiting sentencing. The union’s occupational health and safety coordinator and an organiser inspected the hospital and sent a written report to management. Union General Secretary Brett Holmes asked management to provide an action plan within six weeks to fix the problems. ‘We strongly recommend that a comprehensive security audit be conducted by the Area Manager for Fire and Security or an external contractor with suitable qualifications and experience,’ Brett wrote. He said particular areas of concern included perimeter security, duress response, ED security, aggression minimisation and other training, prevention and management of violence particularly from drug and alcohol clients, and non-compliance with security measures. Management has since carried out a security audit and is working with nurses to fix the problems, said NSWNA Branch secretary Kylie Marquart. The inspection report recommends measures to address security issues related to methadone dosing in the ED. 14 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

It notes: ‘Clients turn up at the ED whenever they please or with minimal warning despite appointment times. This includes arriving late at night on occasion.’ It says clients who arrive well outside appointment times should be turned away. The report asks management, in consultation with nurses and drug and alcohol staff, to review the appropriateness of methadone dosing being done by the ED given its low staffing level. Dosing should occur in a room with two exits, and the patient must not sit between the door and the nurse.

‘Anyone can enter the ED once they are inside the hospital.’ A security officer should be present during methadone dosing times, and should also be on-call in the event that an aggressive patient arrives at the ED. Nurses should be directed to report all violent incidents and if necessary a simple form should be developed to encourage reporting. The report points out that the emergency department treatment area is not secure: ‘Anyone can enter the ED once they are inside the hospital.’ Meanwhile the NSWNA branch at the hospital is pushing for a review of staffing in the emergency department. The hospital at Inverell, on the western edge of the New England Tablelands, is a 52-bed acute care facility including a 29-bed medical ward, a sixbed maternity unit, eight surgical beds and a five-chair day surgery unit. The three-bed ED has no clerical support and an on-call doctor only. There is one RN and one EN on morning and afternoon shifts and just one RN

Branch secretary Kylie Marquart (front, right) with members of the NSWNA Inverell branch.

on night shift. This nurse can be working alone and is also in-charge-of-hospital. Branch secretary Kylie Marquart said the branch wanted two RNs, rather than one RN and one EN, rostered for the emergency department on weekends and public holidays. ‘The real workload issue in ED is the dual role of the one RN who has to carry a full clinical load while trying to adequately manage the hospital,’ she said. ‘Nurses feel they cannot provide adequate, safe care to ED patients during the busy times, and adequately oversee and support the staff in the rest of the hospital.’ n

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THE LAMP JUNE 2007 15

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NG A E W E DS CI A NR E B R I E F

Nurses pay for safety in aged care g Some employers are passing the cost of compulsory police checks on to hard-working and poorly-paid aged care nurses and staff.

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t is now compulsory that all nurses working in aged care have a criminal check, in a move by the federal government to improve safety for residents and staff. New legislation requires all staff to undergo criminal history checks. But it is not specified who bears responsibility for the cost of this requirement. ‘We are seeing some unscrupulous employers passing on the cost to aged care nurses and other staff, who are earning as little as $15 per hour. Some have had to pay up to $52 for a check,’ said NSWNA General Secretary Brett Holmes. For example, the Matthew John Nursing Home in Erina has informed staff they ‘must provide management with a police check or they will be suspended without pay until one is provided’. ‘The new legislation states it is the responsibility of providers to ensure all staff are suitable to provide aged care. The NSWNA believes aged care providers should bear the costs associated with ensuring this,’ said Brett. ‘Aged care nurses are the backbone of the aged care industry – they are responsible for the delivery of quality aged care to residents. They work incredibly hard and are not well paid,’ he said. ‘Asking aged care staff to bear the cost of a police check gives the message they are not valued by their employer. 16 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

In an environment of serious nurse shortages, this shows extremely poor judgement by employers. It will deter good staff from staying, and others from moving into aged care.’ Brett Holmes wrote to Minister for Ageing Christopher Pyne, pointing out the common law obligations of an employer

to reimburse employees’ expenses incurred in the course of employment. He wrote there were also implications under NSW OHS legislation. ‘Since the purpose of the criminal checks is to ensure safety of staff and residents in the workplace, it is an OHS risk control measure. Under OHS legislation,

POLICE CHECKS COMPULSORY FOR ALL WORKERS IN AGED CARE c

Under the Aged Care Act (Commonwealth) 1997, new requirements for national criminal history record checks apply from 1 June 2007 for all staff working in aged care.

c

The legislation states that some offences such as sexual assault and murder will disqualify people from being able to work in aged care; other offences will not.

c

The requirements apply to all staff and volunteers in aged care services, including both government and non-government aged care facilities.

c

A police check may be obtained from State Police, the Australian Federal Police or Crimtac and reveals convictions across all jurisdictions in Australia.

c

The criminal history record checks, once conducted, will result in a police certificate.

c

The cost of a check is approximately $40.00.

c

A police check is a document that discloses evidence of whether a person has been convicted of an offence, has been charged with or found guilty of an offence or subject of a criminal charge still pending before a court.

c

Compliance with the requirements for obtaining police certificates will be monitored by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency.

c

Police checks are valid for only three years.

‘Asking aged care staff to bear the cost of a police check gives the message they are not valued by their employer. It will deter good staff from staying, and others from moving into aged care.’ employers cannot charge employees for anything done or provided in pursuance of the OHS Act.’ Brett requested that a ministerial directive be issued to aged care employers stating that in order ‘to expedite and maintain compliance with legislation, the cost of criminal record checks for current and new employees is to be their responsibility’. The NSWNA has also written to DONs in aged care alerting them to members’ concerns and requested a consistent approach by employers on the issue of police checks. Brett said the NSWNA is also concerned about the way in which employers can potentially use information obtained through criminal history checks. ‘We are particularly concerned that some employers in aged care may take action against employees who have been convicted for offences other than those related to the requirements of the job. We already have cases of nurses being dismissed for a past offence revealed in a police check,’ he said.n

ON $16/PER HOUR, LINDA CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY Linda Hardman (centre front) with colleagues from Wollongong Nursing Home.

n a wage of $16 per hour as AIN at Wollongong Nursing Home, Linda Hardman says $52 for a compulsory police check is a hefty whack for her to pay out of her own pocket. ‘But I had no choice. I had to pay if I wanted to keep my job,’ she said. ‘Nurses in aged care work really hard caring for residents. We don’t get paid much … and now this.’ Linda said it is already hard to get good people to work in aged care and the cost of police checks will be a further deterrent. ‘Good staff are going to be turned off and the delivery of quality care to residents will be threatened,’ she said.

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At a NSWNA branch meeting, the idea was raised to start a letter campaign. Letters signed by 73 of her colleagues were sent to local member Jenni George and Commonwealth Minister for Ageing Christopher Pyne, asking for assistance in resolving this matter. The Minister for Ageing replied, acknowledging ‘the exceptional work that many aged care workers contribute to caring for older people’ but this did not extend to action addressing nurses’ concerns. Linda hopes there will be a community forum in Wollongong with residents’ families, to discuss the issue of policy checks as well as other issues in aged care.

go further than you ever imagined www.nursing.usyd.edu.au

The Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery offers an amazing array of Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master’s courses including Honours. There are also a number of research degrees, including professional doctorates that prepare nurses for leadership in research, teaching and administration.

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GO FURTHER go beyond THE LAMP JUNE 2007 17

s

AGENDA

‘The challenge for us is always to get the balance right between fairness and flexibility. Mr Howard’s got that balance wrong. He went too far after he got control of the Senate at the last election and brought in an extreme Americanised system of industrial relations, which is just divisive.’ Kevin Rudd, MP

Rudd’s IR plan sharpens the choice g The right to collectively bargain, a decent safety net and an independent umpire underpin Labor’s new industrial relations policy.

KEY FEATURES OF THE ALP INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS POLICY c

The policy abolishes AWA individual contracts and provides workers with a right to bargain collectively if that is what a majority of employees in a workplace want.

c

Penalty rates, overtime pay, and public holidays, which are stripped away under the Howard government’s IR laws, are protected in a safety net.

c

The policy ensures workers are protected from unfair dismissal.

c

Creation of a new and independent industrial umpire to maintain fairness in the workplace and set decent minimum wages and conditions for Australians workers.

c

New rights to assist working families balance work and caring responsibilities.

c

A new national IR system for the private sector.

he success of the union movement’s Your Rights At Work campaign and the unpopularity of the WorkChoices laws in the community has been underlined with the release of the Labor Party’s industrial relations policy and a backflip by John Howard. Both, in vastly different ways, recognise that WorkChoices is seriously hurting working families, as the union movement has consistently said it would since it was introduced. Labor’s policy promises to restore the fundamentals of a fair system ripped out by the Howard government: the right to

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bargain collectively, a substantial safety net of 10 national employment standards and a new body – Fair Work Australia – which will restore the role of the independent umpire. NSWNA General Secretary Brett Holmes said in the upcoming federal election – unlike the last one when John Howard did not release any details of WorkChoices – voters will know what they are voting for. ‘Labor has released its policy early for scrutiny and analysis so voters can make a choice. It is evident that on this very important issue for nurses the differences are sharp and clear,’ he said. Brett Holmes said there were some aspects of Labor’s proposed system that

the NSWNA has concerns about but the overall policy delivered the bulk of features the union wanted to see in an industrial relations system. Kevin Rudd said Labor’s policy was about fairness and balance. ‘The challenge for us is always to get the balance right between fairness and flexibility. Mr Howard’s got that balance wrong. He went too far after he got control of the Senate at the last election and brought in an extreme Americanised system of industrial relations, which is just divisive,’ he said. n

BUSINESS PROTESTS AGAINST FAIRNESS

President Michael Chaney said that Labor’s new policy involved a ‘massive reregulation of employer-employee relations, which would turn the clock back on productivity and growth’. The Chief Executive of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peter Hendy, chastised the federal government for its minimal changes, claiming WorkChoices had a perfectly adequate safety net. The chief spokespeople for the business organisations have very strong links to the Liberal Party.

Peter Hendy was Peter Reith’s former chief of staff during the Patrick waterfront dispute and during the children overboard incident. Michael Chaney is the brother of former Liberal minister Fred Chaney. He’s on record as saying that fairness doesn’t have any place in the industrial relations system. Business organisations have indicated they are likely to conduct TV campaigns in support of the Howard government’s laws.

abor’s proposal to scrap key components of the Howard government’s IR laws and inject fairness into workplace laws provoked an hysterical response from business organisations. Business Council of Australia

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18 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

WorkChoices is unfair, says Howard g John Howard has finally conceded that WorkChoices laws are unfair and has dished out a ‘safety net’ with more holes than Swiss cheese.

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or over 24 months, John Howard and a revolving door of ministers of workplace relations have been telling us that his federal IR laws would make us prosperous and secure, boost productivity and were critical to a modern economy. He also accused unions of peddling lies and running a deceitful scare campaign. Four months out from a federal election, it appears John Howard – after finally ‘listening to the Australian people’, now recognises what unions have been saying all along – WorkChoices is unfair.

‘These laws are bad. John Howard’s admitted that, but tinkering at the edges won’t make them good laws.’ ACTU President Sharan Burrow

An ACTU analysis of Howard’s new so-called ‘fairness test’ argues that the Howard government has failed to address major problems with the laws that are hurting working families: c there are no new protections from unfair dismissal; c there are no guarantees of financial compensation for the loss of penalty rates, overtime pay, public holiday loadings and other cuts to workers’ take-home pay; c there are no limits on the power of employers to control rosters;

John Howard – after finally ‘listening to the Australian people’, now recognises what unions have been saying all along – WorkChoices is unfair. c

employers can still insist that workers sign an AWA individual contract and say ‘take it or leave it’; c many ordinary union activities remain illegal and individual workers can still be fined up to $6,000 if the government decides that a strike is ‘illegal’. While John Howard argues the new test is a reintroduction of the nodisadvantage test abolished by WorkChoices, the ACTU says there are major loopholes that will allow employers to avoid the test and leave many workers worse off: c it does not apply to workers on existing AWA individual contracts; c it does not ensure that workers receive fair pay rises; c it does not ensure workers receive financial compensation for the loss of award conditions; c young people, unemployed people, sole parents and disabled people wanting work are not protected; c any employer that is in difficult ‘economic circumstances’ need not provide compensation; c workers in regional and country areas are not protected under the ‘fairness test’. ACTU President Sharan Burrow said Australian workers will not be fooled by the changes. ‘These laws are bad. John Howard’s admitted that, but tinkering at the edges won’t make them good laws. ‘Working families will see through this. We will continue to campaign

against these laws. The only way you can fix these laws is to see them thrown out.’ Julia Gillard, Labor’s Workplace Relations spokesperson, also made it clear she thought Howard’s changes were a pure political ploy. ‘Mr Howard has defended his WorkChoices regime even though it was ripping workers off. Now, four months before an election, he heralds a change. This is just about election day and no one in this country should believe that a re-elected Howard government will keep any of these changes, then it will be back to business as usual, letting workers get ripped off,’ she said.n

‘Mr Howard has defended his WorkChoices regime even though it was ripping workers off. Now, four months before an election, he heralds a change.’ Julia Gillard

THE LAMP JUNE 2007 19

20 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

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AGENDA

What nurses say on IR Kath Cheney, RN, Justice Health

‘Labor’s IR policy is better than John Howard’s industrial laws’ Labor’s IR policy is better than John Howard’s industrial laws. It would leave us better off. Nurses can’t work under these new laws. We can see in aged care how AWAs have been disastrous for nurses. In justice health it is difficult to get staff. If we had AWAs, without penalty rates, shift rates or night shift loading, you wouldn’t get anybody. The health system would be a mess. Outside health it’s a debacle. I’ve had friends

who have had AWAs plonked in front of them and told to take it or leave it. This has been done without notice, without having the opportunity to discuss it with their families. With Howard, it’s just lies, lies and more lies. His changes are just a preelection stunt to soften people up. I’ve been a Liberal voter pretty well all my life. But this time I feel very strongly about not voting Liberal. Last year I went to the USA where they

have these sorts of laws. I asked a young woman working at a check out at Walmart – on a Saturday afternoon – what she was paid. $6 an hour! I thought at the time, that’s what Howard is trying to do here.

Ann Fletcher, CNS, Albury-Wodonga Private Hospital

‘We’ll be wiser this time around’ I am against the laws John Howard has brought in. I’ve had my kids working at KFC and restaurants and seen how bad they were treated. It’s wrong. Howard has acknowledged that WorkChoices is not going to be an election plus. But I don’t trust him with his changes.

Sarah Wallace, AIN, Abbey Nursing Home

‘Movie tickets in return for penalty rates is no good to me’ I feel devastated by Howard’s workplace laws. We’d lose money out of it. I think they are rotten. And when he says he’s listened and changed them I don’t trust him one bit. I have no faith in him, He’s lied too much and then let us down. And he’s done it once too often. I’m hoping the ALP’s policy will be good for us. I want to see fairness in the workplace. We’re not taking any money from the employer that we’re not entitled to. We’re not getting much now. Getting things like movie tickets – as they’ve suggested with the changes – in return for penalty rates is no good to me. I don’t go to movies. What I need is a fair day’s pay. I can’t figure out how they could compensate me for losing my penalty rates with something like a movie ticket. That’s stupid. I just want my wages. I do night shift and penalty rates are so important to make it worthwhile.

I find the ALP’s policy great. In private hospitals we want to be able to stick together – it is already a fight to get what you deserve. I feel sorry for those working in nursing homes. They’re not big employers and it’s hard to bargain with a small workforce. If they spend a whole lot of money on advertising to sell these changes, like they say they will, it will be disgraceful. The first time around they tried to sell something that was wrong. We’ll be wiser this time around.

THE LAMP JUNE 2007 21

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INNE DWUSS TI R N I AB LR II SE SF U E S

Bucking the cost-cutting trend g Nurses offered full-time contracts

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n aged care facility in northern NSW has gone against the WorkChoicesinspired cost-cutting trend by offering fulltime contracts to nurses previously on part-time contracts. The NSW Nurses Association has welcomed the offer by Crowley Care Centre in Ballina. ‘It is a good move for both staff and residents,’ said NSWNA General Secretary Brett Holmes. ‘It will help to retain staff, offer continuity for both staff and residents, and encourage a happier and more productive facility.’ Management’s offer resulted from an initiative by endorsed enrolled nurse and branch delegate Debbie Tuck, who manages the rosters under the supervision of the Care Centre Manager for a staff of over 75, was finding it hard to get staff to fill all shifts. ‘I approached management to try and reach a solution to benefit everyone,’ said Debbie who has worked at the centre for over 10 years. She said she expected the task to be a bit of a challenge, but was pleasantly

surprised when management acted on her suggestions within the day. ‘I was having a hard time organising the roster so I decided to approach management verbally then and there. By lunchtime there was an ad up for the new full-time positions.’

‘Aged care seems like it is forgotten sometimes, but we really hope this will set a precedent.’ Debbie said management’s offer was especially significant because it ran counter to the trend set by the federal government’s industrial legislation. ‘WorkChoices equals cutting hours and conditions for aged care and we have seen many local centres and facilities experience lots of cutbacks,’ she said. ‘Crowley has been happy to offer full-time positions because they can see this is going to have a very big impact on nurses’ morale. The full-time positions include 80 hours per fortnight with a rostered ADO once per month.

‘Already this has boosted staff morale and I am a firm believer that when the staff are happy this flows onto our residents.’ With multiple new contracts on offer, Debbie is confident that rostering shortages will no longer be a problem, with a muchimproved staff to resident ratio. ‘All shifts will now be fully staffed and we will be able to have more time to chat and interact with the residents,’ she said. ‘This will help with their independence as well. ‘For example, we will have more time to encourage the residents to be involved in their own daily care rather than being rushed and staff doing everything for them. Maintaining such independence helps the residents’ health and wellbeing.’ Debbie has always felt that her workplace was like a ‘big family’ and now the staff feel even more appreciated – ‘Obviously there are strong and open working relationships at Crowley, and management don’t want to lose their staff.’ ‘Aged care seems like it is forgotten sometimes, but we really hope this will set a precedent – we see it as a big step in the right direction,’ said Debbie. n

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New agreement at Family Planning NSW

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urses at Family Planning NSW (FPA) have won a new enterprise agreement that secures pay and conditions until 24 November 2009. The new agreement covering nurses at FPA sites across NSW was approved by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission on 19 April 2007. Family Planning NSW is an organisation providing a diverse range of services including clinical, research, telephone advisory, health promotion and training in the field of sexual and reproductive health. Despite a relatively small nursing workforce of 28 RNs, members at FPA achieved a 9% payrise over the three years of the agreement and improved conditions such as increased paid maternity leave and access to voluntary salary sacrificing. ‘These improvements were achieved because throughout the negotiating process nurses were actively involved and attended regular meetings,’ said NSWNA Assistant General Secretary Judith Kiejda. RNs Lorraine Edney and Miranda Wheeler told The Lamp they were relieved to have this new agreement signed and sealed. ‘It’s been a tough fight but we’re happy with what we’ve achieved. We did it by sticking together and being clear about what we wanted,’ said Miranda. ‘It was hard to have meetings because we are at sites dispersed across NSW. But we kept up communication via email and through teleconferencing.’

Lorraine said members are happy to have retrieved conditions that had been previously lost. ‘We also have access to voluntary salary packaging, which was important to members,’ she said ‘We appreciated the union being behind us throughout the negotiating process,’ said Lorraine. Miranda said, ‘Our organisers were superb and we can’t speak highly enough of the work they did with us. ‘We are extremely Celebrating their new agreement: (from left) Marilyn Grey, fortunate to work in NSWNA Organiser Donna St Clair, Lorraine Edney, Miranda this sector and to be in Wheeler, Wendy Jarrett. this union in these very difficult industrial times. c Paid Maternity Leave increased The woman who served me in the local from 9 to 14 weeks and paid either hardware store on Easter Sunday just fortnightly or at half pay; laughed at me when I asked her if she was c Lecturing fees – an allowance of $20 getting penalty rates over the break. Nor per hr in addition to ordinary rates; does she get them on her regular Sundays. c Family Planning Certificate allowance We need to realise what workers around reintroduced – $9.52 per week to be us are losing every day under Howard.’ indexed with wage increases; The key features of the agreement are: c Voluntary salary packaging and salary c An immediate pay increase of 3% sacrifice to superannuation and laptops. backdated to the first pay period on or During the bargaining process, FPA after 1 September 2006; followed by sought legal advice that confirmed FPA a further increase of 3% on the first nurses should remain in the NSW IR pay period on or after 24 November system, as their trading activities were not 2007; and 3% on the first pay period substantial enough for them to fall into on or after 24 November 2008; the federal IR system. n

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THE LAMP JUNE 2007 23

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W O R K L O A D S

Barraba battles to keep designated on-call nurse

H

unter New England Area Health Service wants to scrap the designated on-call nurse at Barraba District Hospital – despite a contrary recommendation from management’s own investigation. The AHS commissioned a report from a senior nurse educator who recommended the designated on-call system stay. However top management ignored this and announced it would be abolished from 14 May. Management claims the decision is not about cutting costs, but bringing Barraba into line with other similarsize hospitals which have given up the designated on-call nurse. The NSW Nurses’ Association has asked the Industrial Relations Commission to order that the designated on-call be maintained while a joint unionmanagement working party examines the issue.

NSWNA branch secretarty at Barraba hospital, Christina Jennar.

The NSWNA and management were meeting with a Commissioner as this edition of The Lamp went to press. Nurses at the 22-bed Barraba Hospital, north of Tamworth, say the current system has proved its worth and should be kept NSWNA delegate at the hospital, ElsieMay Henson, said the union has had several meetings with Area management to try to convince them of the value of the designated on-call. ‘We are a small but busy hospital with 16 aged care beds, six acute beds and a very active ED. There is one RN and one EN on night shift and an extra EN on afternoon shift,’ ElsieMay said. ‘If we need another pair of hands on afternoon, night or weekends we can call on a designated RN. It is one phone call to get her and she arrives very quickly. ‘With no designated on-call nurse, we have to take a nurse off the floor to make a series of phone calls to try to locate someone who is able to come in. ‘Most of the girls who live in town are not going to be hanging around Barraba on the off-chance they might be called in. Those nurses who live out of town on properties could be more than 50km away. ‘We can’t wait that long if we need someone for a cardiac case, a midwifery patient or mental health case. ‘If we can’t quickly get backup it’s going to cause problems, and it’s likely

‘If we need another pair of hands we can call on a designated RN. It is one phone call to get her and she arrives very quickly.’ NSWNA delegate at Barraba hospital, ElsieMay Henson.

to be the RN on duty who will cop the blame.’ ElsieMay said the designated on-call system had operated since before she started at the hospital nine years ago. She said the Barraba community should be represented on any working party investigation n

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More staff for Ballina g Extra nurses in emergency department

B

allina District Hospital nurses have won increased staff in the emergency department after the NSW Nurses’ Association took up their case. As The Lamp reported last month, the union branch at the hospital first raised concerns about ED staffing last October after two critical incidents. The hospital’s Reasonable Workloads Committee recommended more staff but the North Coast Area Health Service rejected the request. The union went to the Industrial Relations Commission to seek additional nursing hours on all shifts. The Commission recommended an extra 10 nursing hours per day including two hours on the morning shift and eight hours between 9.30am and 6pm. The Commission did not meet the union’s request for a second RN on night shift. Instead it recommended a designated on-call nurse be rostered for night duty for a three-month trial.

[The additional daytime hours were] ‘a very good win, we’re very happy with that. But we feel a permanent second nurse on night duty is important for the safety of both patients and staff.’ Rita Lewis, union branch president at the Ballina District Hospital

Union branch president at the hospital, Rita Lewis, said the additional daytime hours were ‘a very good win, we’re very happy with that. But we feel a permanent second nurse on night duty is important for the safety of both patients and staff.’ Rita said many staff were not happy about working on-call. ‘A lot of people live a long way from the hospital and others are single

mothers who can’t leave their children alone at home at night, so it will cause a few problems. ‘An on-call arrangement doesn’t solve the problem that in the event of an emergency, the in-charge-of-hospital nurse would have to move from the ward to the ED, leaving the ward short-staffed until the on-call nurse is able to arrive,’ she said. n

Workloads tool approved for small hospitals g Breakthrough for Bellingen nurses

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SW Health has ruled that the workloads calculation tool can be applied to the medical ward of Bellinger River District Hospital. The ruling opens the way for nurses in other small – especially rural – hospitals to use the workloads tool to prove the need for extra staff. As reported in last month’s issue of The Lamp, North Coast Area Health Service (NCAHS) refused to consider Bellingen’s hospital’s request for more medical ward nurses in October. The hospital’s Reasonable Workloads Committee had used the workloads tool

to calculate that an extra 1.83 FTE nurses were needed. Six months after receiving the staffing request, NCAHS declared the workloads tool was not applicable to the small (18bed) medical ward. After the hospital’s union branch protested, NCAHS sought advice from NSW Health, which last month agreed to install the tool at Bellingen’s medical ward. Chris Moore, vice president of the NSWNA branch at the hospital, said nurses now expected early action by NCAHS to provide funding for more staff. ‘We are fairly confident that in a short period of time we will see the ward staffed appropriately,’ he said. ‘This decision should encourage other wards in small rural hospitals

‘We are fairly confident that in a short period of time we will see the ward staffed appropriately.’ Chris Moore, vice president of the NSWNA Bellingen branch

that are looking to examine their own workloads.’n THE LAMP JUNE 2007 25

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IR SHORTS

MORE RIP-OFFS, THANKS TO WORKCHOICES

UNDER INVESTMENT IN TRAINING COULD COST 500,000 JOBS AND $100 BILLION

T

ew research released by the ACTU shows that unless there is substantial new investment in vocational education and training, the Australian economy could lose up to 550,000 jobs by 2025 and national GDP could decline by more than $100 billion. The ACTU says there is an emerging consensus that Australia is not investing sufficiently in Vocational Education and Training

he Howard government is trying everything to make their IR laws look palatable but the examples of outrageous employers taking advantage of their bloated power in the workplace continue to roll in. On Anzac Day, of all days, the Mean Fiddler restaurant in Rouse Hill was caught out paying its permanent staff only $13 or $14 an hour when they would have received more than twice this amount, $33 an hour, under the NSW Hospitality award. Incredibly, the restaurant slugged its customers a 10% surcharge to cover extra staff costs for a public holiday! On the same day in Meadow Heights, a western suburb of Melbourne, employees of the Morgan’s IGA supermarket worked from 12 noon to 9pm for a base rate of $15.02 an hour. This is $24.52 an hour less than they would have earned on a public holiday under their old collective agreement. Under the Morgan’s IGA contract, workers have been forced to sign away their penalty rates without any compensation.

NAMES CHANGE BUT NOT MUCH ELSE

J

ohn Howard has renamed the two government agencies that were charged with policing WorkChoices. The Office for the Employment Professor Advocate becomes Andrew Stewart the Workplace Authority. The Office for the Workplace Services is now called the Workplace Ombudsman. The Workplace Authority will be responsible for assessing new workplace agreements against Howard’s so-called ‘fairness test’ (see story p 18). Legal experts believe this would require the hiring of thousands of staff to administer the test and ensure that conditions traded away were matched by adequate compensation.

N

‘Having to scrutinise each and every agreement is a huge job,’ Industrial Law Professor Andrew Stewart told The Australian. ‘It will add significantly to the cost and complexity and the timeliness of the agreement process.’ Since WorkChoices has been introduced, the Employment Advocate has approved 306,000 AWAs, 2,862 nonunion collective agreements and 2,486 union collective agreements. No announcements have been made about hiring new staff.

LABOR’S NEW WORKPLACE UMPIRE NEEDS TO BE INDEPENDENT

U

nions have sent a message to Labor that its proposed new workplace umpire needs to be truly independent and have real powers to protect the rights of Australian employees in the workplace. Labor says its proposed new body – Fair Work Australia – which would replace the Australian Industrial Relations

(VET), and that Government policy needs to take a new direction. ‘A decade of neglect of investing in VET has seen the emergence of major skilled labour shortages. At the same time more than a million Australians are unemployed or under-employed and many thousands more can’t take a job because of inadequate social infrastructure such as childcare,’ claims the report. The full report can be downloaded at http://www.actu.asn.au/.

Commission, would act as a one-stop shop to: c implement Labor’s new unfair dismissal protections; c set minimum wages for the 1.2 million ACTU Secretary workers dependent Greg Combet on award wages; c assist employers and employees make collective bargaining agreements; and c provide practical advice to employers and employees via phone and the internet. ‘To ensure workers get a fairer go, Labor’s new super agency ‘Fair Work Australia’ should be a truly independent umpire which understands the pressures on working families and ensures workers’ rights are respected and fairly balanced with the needs of employers,’ said the ACTU Secretary Greg Combet. n THE LAMP JUNE 2007 27

s

NU E R WSSE SI N G E TB TRI INEGF A C T I V E

g Union members and their families gathered for the Rockin’ for Rights Protest March in Sydney’s Hyde Park to express their opposition to the Howard’s IR laws.

T

he march on 22 April was a powerful and creative way for Australian workers to have their voices heard, with the march culminating in a concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground at Moore Park. The NSWNA was there in force to represent the value of nurses and to show their support for all workers’ rights. With prime position at the front of the march, the NSWNA showed their dedication to its members, proudly waving their flags and banners. Unions NSW Secretary, John Robertson, gave an inspiring speech that encouraged Australians to keep up the fight and to protect their rights at work. ‘Be loud and proud for what we stand for 28 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

– we must have our voices heard about our opposition to IR laws,’ he said. ‘We are sending a message to Howard – we are coming after him in the next election and we will be voting for our rights at work,’ Robertson said to an applauding crowd. The march attracted a huge crowd that was loud and clear as they made the journey from Hyde Park to the SCG. Young and old workers marched side by side with families, officials and even pets. The concert drew over an estimated 40,000 revellers and some of Australia’s biggest music acts performed at the SCG. Peter Garrett attended as a special guest. The artists were proud to lend their time and talents to such an important cause.n

MEMBERS HAVE

THEIR SAY

Lyn Hopper, NUM and NSWNA Councillor at Manly Hospital ‘I am worried about the future of job conditions and job security – my colleagues in aged care are already feeling the effects and it’s scary.’

Phillip Sheard, CNC and NSWNA Branch Secretary at Sydney/Sydney Eye Hospital, with children Alex and Elena t

Angela Pridham, RN and NSWNA Councillor, Illawarra Mental Health ‘As nurses we could lose the conditions of our awards that we have all fought so hard for – these laws are just generally unfair on workers.’

‘I want fairness across the board for all workers, especially people who don’t have marketable skills and may find it difficult to negotiate their rights and conditions.’

THE LAMP JUNE 2007 29

s

NU E R WSSE SI N G E TB TRI INEGF A C T I V E

Keeping up the pressure g A network of Your Rights at Work groups throughout NSW is giving nurses a voice on the federal government’s IR laws and the means to make a real difference in the federal election later this year.

MARGINAL

A

In a federal election year, our enthusiasm and commitment will make a huge difference. There are more than 1,300 NSWNA members who live and work in John Howard’s own electorate of Bennelong, on Sydney’s north shore. We have the ability to make a huge difference to the election outcome – in a seat that requires a swing of less than 3,000 votes to change hands.

NSW unions have targeted six marginal seats and here is how to get involved – let’s also send a message to the Prime Minister in his own seat of Bennelong ...

Getting involved is easy and fun

¸

fter more than one year since the introduction of WorkChoices, the verdict is these laws are hurting working families, including nurses. Concerned members of the community, including NSWNA members, have been organising meetings, holding campaign stalls and raising awareness about the consequences of WorkChoices with their families and friends and in their workplaces. Across NSW more than 40 Your Rights at Work (YR@W) local groups have been formed, with many more throughout the rest of the country – including in regional centres. The 2004 election was one in which John Howard tricked Australians to vote for an industrial relations revolution he had always wanted. This year unions, including the NSWNA, are determined their members are fully informed about the nature of the laws and that we turn the federal election into a referendum on their future. Two years of campaigning by union members against these unfair laws have made both major parties sit up and take notice. Our challenge is to keep up the pressure until election day and see these laws scrapped.

Getting your own workplace organised is an important way you can help build and assist your local Rights at Work group. This could involve talking to your co-workers about the IR laws, encouraging your association branch executive to organise YR@W events at your workplace and identifying and signing-up new and potential members who are keen to help the campaign. n

TRAINING COURSES AVAILABLE

20 July – Targeted seat, 1-day workshop (Eden-Monaro, Gilmore, Hughes & Illawarra/Wollongong).

5 June – Targeted seat, 1-day workshop (Penrith Paceway). 6 June – Targeted seat, 1-day workshop (Lindsay, Bennelong, Parramatta, Inner City, North & Eastern Sydney). Ground floor training room 1, UnionsNSW. 18–19 June – Targeted seat, 1-day workshop (Page and Richmond). Lismore. 30 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

YR@W local groups usually hold branch meetings around once a month. Here you can have your say about workplace issues and how the IR laws are impacting on you and your workplace. Events and resources are also coordinated and future activities are planned by the group. New members are always welcome.

Talk to your colleagues

If you wish to participate in any of the above courses or if you live in the electorates of Page, EdenMonaro, Lindsay, Macquarie, Dobell or Bennelong and would like to get involved in the YR@W campaign in these marginal seats, then please email Rita Martin at rmartin@nswnurses.asn.au for further details of the above events.

THE KEY BAT ¸

¸ ¸

¸ ¸

Find the location of your local Your Rights at Work group and attend a meeting (see below). Encourage your friends, neighbours and work mates to come along to YR@W meetings. Make sure you are correctly enrolled to vote on the electoral roll. Encourage your local YR@W branch and association branch to run a stall to distribute flyers and information. Make sure your workplace has a supply of NSWNA posters, badges and YR@W stickers. Make sure there are NSWNA membership forms, enrol to vote forms, posters and YR@W flyers and information available in your staff room.

MARGINAL SEAT

CONTACT

Macquarie

Daniel Walton

Dobell / Central Coast

Alisha Hughes

Lindsay

Mary Yaager

Ballina / Page

Paul Doughty

Eden-Monaro

Peter Malone

Bennelong

Charmaine O’Sheades

SEATS ARE

Local action at Tweed Heads delivers big results

TTLEGROUND ¸ ¸

¸ ¸ ¸

¸

¸

Let your branch executive know you are interested in getting involved in YR@W campaigns. Encourage potential nonmembers to join the Association and get active in the YR@W campaign. Write a Letter to the Editor in your local newspaper and The Lamp about Howard’s IR laws. Order a Nurses Rights at Work T-shirt. Watch the latest Your Rights at Work advertisements on YouTube http://www.youtube. com/yourrightsatwork Take photographs of Your Rights at Work events and submit them to The Lamp (email: lamp@nswnurses.asn. au) and your local media outlet. Visit the NSW Nurses’ Association website regularly for updates and news of upcoming events: www.nswnurses.asn.au

TELEPHONE

EMAIL

02 9264 1691

dwalton@unionsnsw. org.au

02 9264 1691

a.hughes@unionsnsw. org.au

02 9264 9744

myaager@unionsnsw. org.au

0418 290 945

pdoughty@actu.asn.au

02 6247 7844

unionsact@unionsact. org.au

0418 144 608

charmaine@nswtf. org.au

I

n the far north of NSW, nurses from Murwillumbah Hospital, Tweed Hospital, and both Murwillumbah and Tweed Community branches and NSWNA members from local nursing homes decided to band together to organise a regional Your Rights at Work event in the electorate Getting active: Jane Kelly (left), Tweed Hospital Breast Care of Richmond. Nurse and Sue Crossingham, Murwillumbah Hospital (right). Zoe-Anne Guinea, NSWNA Branch President at Tweed District Hospital, said, ‘People are genuinely frightened and irate about way to help raise awareness of those their penalty rates getting cut and we got entering the profession about the federal more than 1,000 people to turn out for the government’s IR laws. rally held on 22 April, which was a great The Tweed YR@W group invited effort for a regional centre like Tweed. guest speakers including Shadow ‘The idea was that we walk from one Treasurer Wayne Swan, the local Federal state to another and we marched from MP Justine Elliot and AWU National Coolangatta to Tweed Heads for a rally in Secretary Bill Shorten, who all spoke the park protesting the removal of workers’ about how WorkChoices was impacting the rights by the federal government.’ local area. The local union office ‘Unions Student nurses from nearby Griffith Far North Coast’ also assisted with coUniversity attended, which was a great ordinating the event.n THE LAMP JUNE 2007 31

s

N E W S I N B R NURSES’ INTERNATIONAL I E F DAY

e

A day of fun – and quality g Nurses across the State found lots of ways to party on International Nurses Day (IND) on 12 May. While members took time out to organise some fun, the theme of this year’s events served as a reminder of our continuing efforts to raise the quality of patient care.

N

urses all over the world were acknowledged and celebrated on 12 May, International Nurses Day, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth 187 years ago. This year’s theme was ‘Quality workplaces equal quality patient care’ – a highly relevant subject given WorkChoices and other industrial issues facing Australian nurses. Workplaces throughout NSW were abuzz with fun and celebrations. Events included bed races, bed-making, fancy dress competitions, special lunches and award ceremonies. The day was a great way to say thank you to nurses for their continued hard work and the important role they play in our communities. 32 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

Fastest bed in the inner-west

Concord Hospital nurses showed their speed and skills on International Nurses Day with a variety of games and competitions. Bed races were a huge success and nurses also enjoyed the fastest-bed-making challenge. Concord also hosted a writing competition, inviting nurses to write about their experiences on the job.

b Staffing victory fires up the barbie

A good Aussie BBQ was the celebration of choice for Byron District Hospital and Byron Community Health. Staff had much to celebrate, including a recent positive outcome to the branch’s push for funding for extra staff at the hospital. d Fabulous night at Aesop’s

Sydney Children’s Hospital celebrated International Nurses’ Day with a big fat Greek meal at Aesop’s Greek Restaurant! Awards were also presented and Professor Mary Chiarella from UTS was guest speaker on the night. Here Wendy Londal accepts her Excellence in Nursing Award from Professor Jackie Crisp.

d World fashion on display

Staff at Elizabeth Lodge embraced a multicultural theme for International Nurses’ Day, celebrating their diverse backgrounds with an International Staff Fashion Parade. With nurses from more than 14 countries, the day was both interesting and a success.

c

Crazy hair day at Nunyara

Staff at Nunyara Aged Care Facility, Peakhurst, got into the spirit of International Nurses Day by donning colourful wigs and interesting hairstyles. The bright and crazy looks provided much entertainment for the staff as well as residents and everyone had a fantastic day together, celebrating nurses and all their hard work.n

THE LAMP JUNE 2007 33

7th NSW Nurses’ Association

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES CONFERENCE • Friday 5 October 2007 • 9.00am – 5.00pm • Swiss-Grand Resort & Spa Cnr Campbell Parade & Beach Road Bondi Beach (Parking available @ $8 for the day) • Cost: Members $85 • Non Members $100 • Nursing Students Free (limited places)

The future of nursing and midwifery: Its time to act Come to this important conference and have a say on the future direction of nursing and midwifery. We want to hear your views on the 4 major themes that emerged at the April Nurse & Midwife Leaders Forum. They are: • Cultural change • Health workforce redesign • Leadership • Political strategy For further details check our website www.nswnurses.asn.au and also The Lamp for further details Registration Download registration form from www.nswnurses.asn.au or contact Carolyn Kulling on Metro: 8595 1234 Rural: 1300 367 962 Authorised by Brett Holmes, NSWNA General Secretary

The Edith Cavell Trust Scholarships for the academic year

2008

Applications for the Edith Cavell Trust Scholarships are now being accepted for 2008. Members or Associate Members of the NSW Nurses’ Association or the Australian Nursing Federation (NSW Branch) are invited to apply. Applicants should meet one of the following criteria: 1. Student nurses undertaking full-time courses leading to initial registration as a nurse. 2. Registered or enrolled nurses who wish to attend: • an accredited clinical nursing education course of six months or less, either full-time or part-time; • an accredited nursing conference or seminar relevant to applicant’s clinical practice. 3. Properly constituted nursing organisations, faculties or schools of nursing or registered or enrolled nurses wishing to: • attend full-time, relevant post-basic studies at an approved institution for a period or periods of more than six months; • undertake an academically approved research program in the theory and practice of nursing work; • conduct or fund a relevant professional or clinical nursing educational program. Applicants must be currently registered or enrolled with the NSW Nurses’ Registration Board (or the Registration Board of the state where practising).

Applications close 5pm on 31 July 2007 34 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

Applicants must use the official Edith Cavell Trust application form. Details of the Edith Cavell Trust Rules are available on request and will also be supplied with the application form.

For further information or forms, contact: The Secretary – The Edith Cavell Trust PO Box 40, Camperdown NSW 1450 Tel: Mrs Glen Ginty 1300 367 962 Email: gginty@nswnurses.asn.au Web: www.nswnurses.asn.au – click on ‘Education’

s

P R O F I L E

A tireless worker for nurses g Lana Donaldson has been many things throughout her life: a mother, a grandmother, a nurse, and a unionist who supported nurses for over 40 years.

Lana Donaldson

L

ana Donaldson, a former president of the NSWNA, recently retired from nursing after a stellar professional career and a dedicated life as a trade unionist. Lana was hospital-trained as a nurse from 1965 to 1969. She took on night duty as a young working mother – the only way to work and look after her two children. In those early years her husband worked in the construction industry six or seven days a week and Lana faced many challenges balancing her work and family responsibilities. After graduation, Lana worked in the OR at Concord Hospital, and after her first child she was back to the wards as a part-timer. During the early 1970s Lana’s formative nursing experience included

treating many Vietnam, Korean War and WWII veterans. By the mid 1970s, Lana returned to the acute respiratory ward on night shift. This memory, she says was one of her most valuable as it was here that she learned the value of listening to strained respirations, the change of the tone and the depth when sleep was not possible. Lana once remarked that she learnt the value of presence. That is, being seen and visible, when dealing with sick individuals who often expressed their fear of being alone.

An impressive commitment to her union In the 1980s, following the harmonisation of the Australian Nursing Federation with the NSWNA (which meant that the Repatriation Hospitals could be included in the state organisation), Lana commenced an active participation within the NSWNA’s internal structure. For many years Lana was Branch Secretary at Concord Hospital and held all positions within the local branch structure. She was employed as the CNC Cardiology and part of that role involved coordinating the Cardiac Rehabilitation Service. Lana also worked at Concord Repatriation General Hospital as a Nurse Manager. In 1988 Lana was first elected as an

‘Her contribution to the NSWNA has been exceptional.’ Lana Donaldson with NSWNA General Secretary Brett Holmes

Annual Conference delegate. She continued to be a delegate for a decade from 1989 to 1998. Lana served as a NSWNA Councillor from 1989 to 2003. In 1994 she was elected Vice President after being on Council for five years and served in this position until 1998. In October 1998, Lana became NSWNA State President, a position she would hold for five years until 2003. During the period from 1997 to 2001, she was an ANF Delegate and served the ANF as its National President. Throughout her time on Council and as NSWNA President, she worked with three General Secretaries: Patricia Staunton, Sandra Moait and Brett Holmes. Lana remarked: ‘It is the above-thecall-of-duty activities that makes this union so great’. Lana’s last clinical position was Clinical Manager, Respiratory and Critical Care Services SSWAHS.

A great nurse Lana once wrote that ‘nursing leaders should demonstrate equity of access, due process, natural justice and concern for the individuals for whom they are responsible’. NSWNA General Secretary Brett Holmes says Lana was a great nurse and a widely respected nurse manager. ‘As a specialist nurse, Lana supported the closer involvement of the professional specialist nursing associations in the NSWNA’s decision-making processes.’ ‘She had boundless energy, juggling her personal and professional life with her NSWNA and ANF responsibilities and yet still managed to find time to act as the President of the Association of Clinical Nurse Consultants and the Treasurer of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Association.’ ‘Her contribution to the NSWNA has been exceptional.’ Today Lana continues her involvement in the work of the association as a Life Member of the NSWNA. n THE LAMP JUNE 2007 35

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Q & A

ASK

JUDITH

WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS AT WORK, NSWNA ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY JUDITH KIEJDA HAS THE ANSWERS.

Am I entitled to in-charge allowance? I am an RN working in a smaller private hospital with less than 100 beds. When I am rostered to work a morning shift Monday to Friday, I am in charge of the ward and hospital for the first hour before the NUM and DON are rostered to commence duty. Should I be paid the in-charge allowance for this one hour? What should I be paid for being in-charge of the ward and hospital on night shift?

The in-charge allowances are paid ‘per shift’. So, if you are in-charge for one hour or a whole shift, you get paid the whole shift allowance. When you are in-charge of both the ward and the hospital, you are only eligible for the in-charge of hospital allowance. The in-charge rates are slightly different in different private hospitals due to the different enterprise agreements/awards, but they are approximately $20.09 per shift. You can check your agreement or award rates on the Association website.

Nurse-patient ratios I am a permanent part-timer in a public hospital but I also work in a nursing home on a casual basis. Recently, in both places of employment, there has been a problem with inadequate staffing levels on the shifts that I have been rostered to work. Could you please inform me what the nurse ratio to patient number is for both places of work? I have tried to find the information in the awards for both public hospitals and nursing homes but the only reference I can see in the awards refer to the ‘proportion of staffing’. Could you please explain to me what this means?

The number of nurses rostered on a particular shift would depend on a number of factors including the type of patients, dependency level and the amount of care that has to be provided for the patients/clients. The Association, Department of Health and Commonwealth accreditation agencies do not recommend a set number of staff per patient each shift. If you feel that there are insufficient nurses on duty to provide a safe environment for staff and adequate care for patients/residents, in the first instance, you should speak to the

NUM or management of the facility and explain your reasons why you feel there are not sufficient staff rostered on duty. Other avenues for pursuing these concerns are your OH&S committee, your reasonable workloads committee or Association branch. Whether you work in a public hospital or a nursing home, from an OH&S perspective, generally, there should be at least two staff on duty at all times. With regards to your second query about proportions, the award references are, Proportion, Public Health System Nurses’ & Midwives’ (State) Award, Clause 42, and Nursing Homes &c., Nurses’ State Award Clause 20. The clauses in both of these awards refer to the ratio of RNs to EN/AIN employed in a facility, and not the number of staff rostered on an individual shift per patient.

Requirement to wear lead apron As a nurse working at a private hospital, I have to wear a lead apron on and off for a whole shift. Management say I must add up the minutes per day I have the apron on and they will pay me an allowance for that period of time. The award says the allowance is for ‘each hour or part thereof’. Does that mean that each time span should be calculated on its own?

The lead apron allowance is set out in the Private Hospital Industry Nurses’ (State) Award 12 (iv) and is identical in enterprise agreements in the private hospital sector: An employee required to wear a lead apron shall be paid an allowance of the sum set out in Item 9 of Table 2 [ie, $1.32] for each hour or part thereof that they are required to wear the said apron. If, for example, during an 8-hour shift you had the lead apron on from 9-10.30am and then again from 1.30-3.10pm, then:0900-1030 1hr 30min Hours or part thereof : 2

2 x $1.32 = $2.64

1330-1510

2 x $1.32 = $2.64

1hr 40min Hours or part thereof : 2

Total payment: $5.28

The periods are treated severally, so the total payment is $5.28. n

THE LAMP JUNE 2007 37

New Pathways. New Challenges. Australian Catholic University (ACU National) provides postgraduate study opportunities relevant to your career. ACU National is internationally recognised as a leader in nursing and midwifery education, developing graduates to become independent learners and competent practitioners. As a postgraduate student, you will enjoy the benefits of sophisticated nursing laboratories, highly qualified teaching staff, strong industry links and flexible study modes. Discover a new pathway to achieving your goals. Please visit:

www.acu.edu.au/nursing ACU National is currently accepting mid-year enrolments. Applications close: Friday, 22 June. ACU National is a public university open to all.

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The High-Tech Intensive Care System everyone is talking about. Medicraft Hill-Rom’s TotalCare SpO2RT Pulmonary Therapy system is designed to manage your acutely ill, immobile patients. This unique system offers a combination of bedframe and surface that makes treating the critically ill patient easier and safer. It is the only support system to offer three fundamental aspects of patient positioning:

Continuous Lateral Rotation Prone Positioning Upright Chair Position

The TotalCare SpO2RT Pulmonary Therapy system increases efficiency and improves safety by reducing the need for moving and handling of critically ill patients. For details on the full range of our hospital beds, trolleys and ward furniture please visit: www.hill-rom.com or www.medicraft.com.au or call 02 9569 0255

Enhancing the lives of patients and caregivers

38 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

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L I F E S T Y L E

Nursing is artist’s bedrock Robyn Waghorn and, above, her work entitled 44 Smith Street.

g For Robyn Waghorn, RN, art and nursing make a great mix.

R

egistered nurse and artist, Robyn Waghorn, never considered nursing as a career until her aunt raised the idea with her. ‘I had briefly worked in publishing after finishing my leaving certificate but I didn’t really enjoy the job. My aunt suggested nursing and I said I’d give it a go,’ said Robyn. ‘We must have been in the city because we were in Sydney Hospital within 10 minutes and within six weeks I was in training.’ Robyn loved nursing from the outset and completed her training at Sydney Hospital, working in the renal unit – Sydney’s first. ‘I have always nursed, including a stint in India with a refugee organisation, and only took time off after the birth of each of my three children.’ Working part-time meant Robyn could be involved with her children’s schools and various activities, but she found she had extra time on her hands when her youngest child started high school. ‘I wanted to study pottery at tech but the class was full so I ended up in the printmaking class. I didn’t know much about printmaking as an art form but I was happy to give it a try,’ said Robyn. When she found out that by taking three subjects she could study for free, Robyn enrolled in a fine arts course. Robyn loved the course and found a lot of similarities between nursing and printmaking – ‘As an art form printmaking is fairly structured and it

can be hard work physically, so a nursing background was a great foundation and source of discipline.’ ‘I wanted to know more about conceptual prints rather than decorative prints and to learn about the theoretical side of the art form, so I enrolled in a visual arts degree through Sydney University.’ Robyn excelled in the course and graduated with first-class honours, with her major work focusing on printmaking on postcards. Robyn says she is inspired by landscapes, both natural and industrial, and has had her work displayed in various exhibitions. She has also taught printmaking and enjoys charcoal drawing as another artistic medium. ‘I now work at Sutherland Hospital, I’m a volunteer at the Sydney Hospital/ Sydney Eye Hospital museum, and am a member of the Sydney Hospital Graduate Nurses’ Association. I am very passionate about the museum,’ said Robyn.

Our reviewers & tipsters receive a delightful ABC Classics CD – for uplifting enjoyment! Gifts so good, you won’t want to give them away. There is an ABC Shop near you.

For locations visit abcshop.com.au or call 1300 360 111. Ask about our rewards program.

Like many nurses, Robyn likes to take on various projects and can juggle lots of things at once. ‘I think my art and my nursing balance nicely – I can always read about art or go to an exhibition when I need to clear my head from work and nursing – they interlock perfectly.’ she said. n

WANTED STAR REVIEWERS & TIPSTERS FOR OUR REVIEW PAGES We're seeking members with a non-nursing skill or talent they'd like to share with other nurses. You could be a whiz in the kitchen. Or have some DIY plumbing and homehandy tips. Or a wild and wonderful interest or skill. Be it strange, extraordinary or useful, we'd love you to come on board as a NSWNA tipster. We are also seeking closet film buffs to share with other nurses their views on the movies they love and hate. It’s a chance to see previews of next month’s new releases. Please contact us with expressions of interest to be part of our tipster and movie review team. Be part of the action by calling Editorial Enquiries now on 02 8595 1219 or email lamp@nswnurses.asn.au THE LAMP JUNE 2007 39

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F E E S S T T Y Y LL E E LL II F

Reviewer Ruth Khoury, RN, St George Hospital Kogarah

Driving Lessons g Lessons on life, love and … how to drive

W

ritten and directed by Jeremy Brock (‘Charlotte Gray’, 2001, and ‘The Last King of Scotland’, 2006), Driving Lessons is a well-cast insightful comedy drama set at a lively pace, taking us into a world where lessons are learnt by everyone. Flung far from the realm of Harry Potter, Rupert Grint (Ben Marshall) delivers an appealing performance with his engaging portrayal of an only son emerging from an oppressed upbringing in a London vicarage. Underrated actor, Nicholas Farrell, as an unpretentious vicar Robert Marshall,

and Laura Linney, as his opinionated wife Laura, play Ben’s incompatible parents. Laura’s possessive attitude towards their son spoils any possibility of a mature relationship developing between Ben and his overborne father. In the interests of frugality, Laura deviously appoints herself Ben’s driving instructor, but uses practice times to pursue her own interests. Ben becomes increasingly aware of his mother’s disregard for his feelings when she directs him to play a humiliating role – a tree – in the church play. Ben’s acceleration on the path to autonomy begins when his mother insists that he find a job to help contribute to

The Lamp’s rating

the welfare of an unusual lodger she has decided to shelter at the vicarage. Ben obtains a job as an assistant to feisty, unconventional, retired actress Dame Eve (Evie) Walton. Quick-witted Evie energetically and significantly contributes to broadening Ben’s horizons, cajoling him to break parental rules. Exceptional views of loch and riverside and local scenes in London and Edinburgh are filmed on location. This charming production appeals to viewers of all ages. You will be amused and inspired. Satirical humor is cleverly woven throughout the film, which takes a creative look at a universal dilemma.n Driving Lessons opens nationally on 7 June.

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I Do

g An engaging film about a dysfunctional family and a die-hard bachelor’s undoing in the clasping hands of love.

I

Do is billed as a romantic comedy. All comedy has a shadow and in this film it is unresolved grief and a dysfunctional family. Luis Costa, the central character – a 43-yyear-old confirmed bachelor – struggles to gain his sense of self, rendered virtually impossible by his domineering mother and five sisters who call him by his childhood nickname. They maintain his dependence by doing his laundry, shopping and cooking, This is compounded by his father’s death in his twenties. As twenty-something year olds do, Luis falls in love but his family of women

T I C K E T

The Lamp’s rating

ridicule and reject his girlfriend and she summarily dumps him. He has difficulty letting go and makes a perfume that smells like her. In his loss/obsession he discovers his talent, and ultimate career, as a perfume designer. He convinces himself that he is happy having affairs. His mother clutches a lap dog (the perpetual baby), has ‘fainting’ spells, keeps a tight reign over everyone and presides over the ritual Sunday lunch, which the extended family attends. She never remembers the names of her sons-in-law. His sisters have tired of running around after Luis and decide to find him a wife. After sabotaging thirty-one

G I V E A W A Y S

F O R

Reviewer Felicity Daphné Baldry, RN, Macquarie Hospital

dates, Luis hires his best friend’s sister, Emmanuelle, to pretend to be his girlfriend and fiancée. His mother and sisters excitedly plan an expensive wedding. But the plan is that Emmanuelle will desert him and not turn up for the wedding. Luis’ plans develops hiccups. His latest perfume fails. Emmanuelle has her own agenda. But, to misquote John Lennon, ‘LOVE is what happens while you’re busy making other plans’ … The actors worked hard to drive the script because of sloppy direction. I Do is worth viewing to observe the dynamics of this dysfunctional family. n I do opens nationally on 21 June.

N S W N A

M E M B E R S

CLUBLAND (M) – In cinemas June 28 The hit of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival Clubland is a story about family loyalty, the mother-son bond and the power of first love. In this honestly funny and genuinely touching story, Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn shines alongside rising stars Khan Chittenden, Emma Booth and Richard Wilson, and Australian screen favourites Rebecca Gibney and Frankie J Holden. Clubland will make you laugh, cry and run home to hug your family. The Lamp has 30 double passes to give away to Clubland, as well as 100 double passes to I Do and 50 double passes to Driving Lessons. To enter, email lamp@nswnurses.asn.au with your name, membership number, address and contact number. First entries win! THE LAMP JUNE 2007 41

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O B I T U A R I E S

An extraordinary woman who set standards for all flight nurses KAYE MELMETH 20 January 1949 – 17 March 2007

A

ir ambulance personnel past and present gathered for a special ceremony at the NSW Air Ambulance Base at Mascot on 11 December 2006, to honour an extraordinary woman. A Beechcraft Super King Air, aircraft AMS (Alpha Mike Sierra), was named the ‘Kaye Melmeth’ as a perpetual tribute to our Senior Flight Nurse, for her 28 years of devoted service to the NSW Air Ambulance. Many past and present flight nurses, pilots, Medical Retrieval Unit Coordinators, aircraft engineers, administration staff, aeromedical ambulance officers, family and friends attended the ceremony. Kaye Melmeth began as a flight nurse with Air Ambulance in 1978 and quickly rose to become Senior Flight Nurse, a

position she held right up until being diagnosed with a brain tumour in September 2006. Kaye was instrumental in establishing standards for flight nurses across Australia and as a result many thousands of patients transported over the years have benefited from the highest quality of care. Kaye began her registered nurse training in 1966 at Taree (Manning Base Hospital) and completed it at Royal Newcastle Hospital, teaming up with her twin sister Anne who was then two years her ‘junior’. Kaye never let Anne forget this fact! They used their identical twin status to their advantage, by creating confusion and humorous situations. Kaye completed her midwifery course at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne and then returned to Royal Newcastle Hospital to study for her

ICU course, while waiting for Anne to complete her studies so that they could travel to England together. During two years in England, Kaye worked in the Renal Unit and ICU and then passed on her knowledge tutoring. Kaye enjoyed critical care nursing and was always looking for a new challenge to utilise her many talents. She found that challenge in the Air Ambulance. For many years Kaye held the position of president and treasurer of Flight Nurses Australia. She was responsible for establishing the Aviation Medicine Nursing Course through the University of South Australia and was a founding member of ISAS, the International Society of Aeromedical Services in Australia. Kaye was able to share her extensive knowledge with us and encourage our

Always there for her patients and friends

SONIA PASCUAL NAPIZA

S

onia entered my life through one of her chosen passions, nursing. In 1958 Sonia commenced what would become many years of study, dedication and commitment in her development towards becoming one of the best bedside nurses we will ever see. After six years of study and working, Sonia travelled to Chicago in the United 42 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

States where she worked as a nurse for three years. She then returned to the Philippines, working as well as studying to complete a Bachelor of Science in 1980. Later, Sonia decided to travel to Australia making Macarthur her home. She continued to demonstrate her ability to adapt to an ever-changing environment and in 1987 Sonia accepted a nursing position at Camden District Hospital. At the same time she also worked at Bigge St Private Hospital for three years from 1987-1990. In 1988 Sonia transferred to Liverpool Hospital where she worked for two years. She returned in 1990 to Camden District Hospital and worked there for another seven years.

On her return to Camden, she also started working at Macarthur Private Hospital where she was to work for 16 years. Seven years later in 1997, Sonia decided she needed a change and moved to the Medical Ward at Campbelltown Hospital, where she worked as a senior nurse on our team. In 2003, Sonia chose to retire but her retirement was only short; she couldn’t stay away and returned to her love of nursing four months later. After a much-deserved holiday, Sonia joined the Medical Ward again and continued to work at Macarthur Private Hospital. In 2005 Sonia spread her wings again and moved to work in the Coronary Care Unit at Campbelltown. After 12 months, she decided to return to work again on

C O M P E T I T I O N

self-development through ongoing education, through regular in-service and allowing time out for short and long courses and seminars. The flight nurses were able to achieve proficiency in the paramedic protocols, which are vital as we are mainly the sole practitioner during flight. Kaye was integral to the setting up of our newest fleet of four King Air aircraft, using her expertise in aviation medicine and vast knowledge of aeromedical operations. She has made NSW Air Ambulance the magnificent operation it is today. Kaye always found time for her staff despite her busy working days. She was a good listener and a good negotiator. Many flight nurses have been with Air Ambulance for many years, a reflection of the wonderful working environment she created. Many past staff kept in contact with Kaye for many years. She had many friends, a very busy social life and she enjoyed travelling overseas. Kaye had a large family whom she saw frequently and she dearly loved her sisters and their families. She cared greatly for her ‘other’ family at Air Ambulance and we all appreciated this. Her commitment to excellence in education and service to her profession has left behind a legacy for flight nurses and other aeromedical personnel to continue her great work. Kaye did not set out to become a legend, but that is what she has become. Kaye passed away surrounded by her loving sisters. Her funeral at Tea Gardens was conducted with full Ambulance honours and a uniformed guard of honour solemnly bade her farewell. Her untimely passing is a tragic loss for all who were privileged to know her. Her presence and her friendship at Air Ambulance will be very sadly missed. She will be forever, the strength beneath our wings. By Tanya Hill, NSW Air Ambulance Flight Nurse the Medical Stroke Unit as she wished to continue her love of working for those who needed her most. To her fellow nursing workmates and friends, Sonia was known and loved as a caring person who always put others before herself. Wherever she worked as a nurse around the world she developed and maintained friendships. Sonia was the ultimate quiet achiever: unassuming, kind and compassionate to all she came into contact with. She was hardworking, reliable and stood for the rights of others. As a nurse, Sonia cared for countless patients, always putting them first and ensuring all their needs were met. She worked the dreaded night duty shifts. But Sonia always arrived at work with a smile on her face, ready to spend hours making sure her patients were comfortable. She was prepared to go the extra mile, making them cups of tea in the middle of the night, not taking a meal break until they were all settled. She was always busy looking for what needed to be done next. Sonia was immensely proud of her children and family and demonstrated to us her love and commitment to them. Her mother’s heart also stretched and included many of us. Sonia often brought us food and gifts, along with a smile and a hug. Sonia our special friend, we miss you and we will always love and remember you. n By Marg Dunford, Campbelltown Hospital

These shoes are made for walking

WIN! THE PERFECT PAIR OF FASHIONABLE & COMFORTABLE

ECCO SHOES FOR WORK The Lamp is offering members the chance to win one of 8 pairs of the fashionable ECCO Shoes Soft range. ECCO Shoes are a reliable and popular brand that combine quality and fashion, making their shoes ideal for a busy nursing environment. Made from breathable materials, the ECCO Shoes Soft range is a great choice in footwear for nurses who are on their feet all day. ECCO provides a super light and flexible shoe that is also durable, providing both comfort and support for nurses who are always on the go. Features include a snug fit at the heel and top of the foot, a leather upper and built in shock points in the sole. Finally, here’s a shoe that means nurses won’t be thinking about their aching feet while trying to make it throughout the day. The ECCO Shoes Soft range is price from $139.95 to $179.95 and come in a range of colours. We have eight pairs to give away in either black, white or navy. To enter the ECCO draw write your name, address and membership number plus your preferred colour and style (lace-up or velcro strap) on the back of an envelope. And don’t forget your shoe size! Send entries to: ECCO Shoes Soft Competition PO Box 40, Camperdown NSW 1450 For more information on ECCO or to view more ECCO products including handbags and accessories, visit www.ecco.com/au. THE LAMP JUNE 2007 43

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Choose super. Choose HIP. %

15.9

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as the financial years return for Growth (default) Option

Crediting Rate of HIP’s Growth Option (%) Growth* 20.0 Compound Annual Return for Growth Option − 9.8%pa

17.0 15.5

15.9

13.1

13.0 9.0

10.2

10.0

9.1

12.2 12.6

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9.8

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2006

2005

2003 -1.9

2004

2002 2001

2000

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1995

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1989

• 3 year compound return 13.6% • 5 year compound return 6.2% • Return since inception 9.8%

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WHERE TO GET THIS MONTH’S NEW RELEASES

L I F E S T Y L E

Book me Outcome Measurement & Management: First Steps for the Practicing Clinician by Sandra L. Kaplan, F.A. Davis Co., RRP $50.00, ISBN: 978-0-8036-0310-3 Outcome Measurement & Management is the first text to combine both the terminology and the process of using outcomes data to improve service delivery. Dr. Kaplan explains the types of outcomes that can be measured and how to view clinical documentation as a source for outcome data, guiding readers towards improving service for their patients. In the end, the reader will be learning how to objectively evaluate their own practice, validate their documentation and patient interventions, and to identify their level of effectiveness. (Not independently reviewed)

Long-Term Care Assisting: Aged Care and Disability by Karen Scott, Margaret Webb, Sheila Sorrentino and Bernie Gorek, Mosby Elsevier, RRP $69.95, ISBN: 978-0-729-53777-3 This revised text provides students who are undertaking Certificate III in Aged Care or Disability with the relevant skills and functions, safety and psychosocial approach to care within the context of

S P E C I A L

the needs of older people and others who require long-term care. Caring, understanding, resident rights and respect for residents as people with dignity and value are attitudes conveyed throughout the book as well as care for the person with a disability. This text will also be particularly useful for those undertaking caring activities both in residential care and within a community context.

Harvard Medical School Guide to Overcoming Thyroid Problems by Jeffrey R. Garber, M. D. with Sandra Sardella White, Mc Graw-Hill, RRP $14.95, ISBN: 978-0-071-44471-2 The Harvard Medical School Guide to Overcoming Thyroid Problems is an up-to-the-minute, authoritative source of practical information for thyroid patients and those who think they may have a thyroid problem. Working from the belief that ‘being informed is your best cure,’ Garber: Explains how the thyroid works, what can go wrong and why, and how to work with a doctor to feel better and stay healthy. It dispels common myths and misconceptions about thyroid disease and describes the best diagnostic tests and both conventional and alternative treatment approaches and covers the most common forms of thyroid disease in detail, including Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s disease, and thyroid cancer.

I N T E R E S T

T I T L E

Point Last Seen: A Road to Recovery After Childhood Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence by Ricky Hunter, Debut Publishing Pty Ltd, RRP $27.95, ISBN: 978-1-876-32983-9 All too often we hear or read horrific stories of children being abducted by pedophiles and shudder at the thought of what these innocent victims must have experienced. Rarely, if ever, do we hear how the terrifying experiences affect these victims as they journey through their lives. Ricky Hunter tells her story of being abducted at age five and how this terrifying ordeal shaped her life from childhood through to early womanhood and beyond.

These books are all available on order through the publisher or your local bookshop. Members of the NSWNA can borrow any of these books and more from our Records and Information Centre. For borrowing information, contact Jeannette Bromfield, 8595 2175, jbromfield@nswnurses.asn.au or Cathy Matias, 8595 2121, cmatias@nswnurses.asn.au

Mosby’s Pocket Guide to Basic Skills and Procedures (6th edition) by Anne Griffin Perry and Patricia A. Potter, Mosby Elsevier, RRP $60.00 ISBN: 978-0-323-04610-7 This pocket guide is a practical, portable reference for students and practitioners in the clinical setting. Now organised from A to Z, this sixth edition of the popular pocket guide presents nearly 100 basic nursing skills in a simple, concise format. Based on the market-leading Perry & Potter’s ‘Clinical Nursing Skills & Techniques’, this portable, practical reference is appropriate for both nursing students and practitioners performing basic skills in any clinical setting.

Manual of Medical-Surgical Nursing Care: Nursing Interventions and Collaborative Management (6th edition) by Pamela L. Swearingen, Mosby-Elsevier, RRP $88.00, ISBN: 978-0-323-03727-3 Manual of MedicalSurgical Nursing Care covers everything that nurses need to know about commonly encountered medicalsurgical conditions to more effectively manage patients and improve outcomes. It describes treatment in terms of specific timeframes and desired outcomes, making it easier to set realistic goals and evaluate patient care. Written by a wide range of clinical experts, this is an essential resource for planning patient care and preparing care plans! n THE LAMP JUNE 2007 45

3rd Australasian Nursing & Allied Health Stroke Conference For your copy of the Smart Strokes 2007 Registration Brochure, please contact: Smart Strokes 2007 Conference Secretariat P: 02 9437 9333 or E: smartstrokes@conferenceaction.com.au 2 - 3 AUGUST 2007, STAR CITY, SYDNEY

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CRoSSWoRD How well do you know your specialties? Test your knowledge with this month’s crossword. 1

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s 7. 10. 11. 12. 14. 15. 19. 21. 24. 26. 27. 29. s 1. 2.

ACROSS Nurses who help accident or injury patients to regain full function (14) Anaemia is caused by a deficiency of this nutrient (4) Type of nurse specialising in ulcer or lesion care, ‌.. care nurse (5) Pimples (4) Eyelashes (5) Type of infection treated with antibiotics (9) Nurse who works in baromedical care (10) Against (4) Lethal, deadly (5) The ocean (3) Fear (7) Blood specialist (13)

DOWN A cardiologist specialises in this organ (5) Icterus, condition causing yellow skin (8)

3. 4. 5. 6. 8. 9. 13. 16. 17. 18. 20. 22. 23. 25. 28.

Branch of nursing that deals with delivering babies (9) Area of the hospital where very sick babies go (1.1.1.1.) Where the metacarpal bones are located (4) Type of nurse, abbrev (1.1.) Cancer specialists (11) Relating to the kidneys (5) A secretion of the liver stored in the gallbladder (4) Lower part of the ear (4) Ward that treats 9 Down (8) Part of the gastrointestinal system (7) Fever (7) Type of nurse who works in planes, ... nurse (6) Treatment for cancer, abbrev (5) Nursing specialty dealing with older people, aged ... (4) Gastrointestinal, abbrev (1.1.)

Solution page 49 THE LAMP JUNE 2007 47

DIARY DATES

Conferences, seminars, meetings SYDNEY, HUNTER & ILLAWARRA Nurses Christian Fellowship Winter Wonderland Dinner: 16 June, 7pm, St Pauls Anglican Church, Wahroonga Professional Evening: 27 July, 7pm, Conference Room 1, Bankstown Hospital Professional Breakfast: 18 August, 9am Mt Annan Botannical Gardens Contact: Jane, 9449 4868 (dinner/ b-fast) and Diana 9476 4440 (prof. evening) ACAT Nurses Special Interest Group Date: 19 June, 1pm – 3pm, Bankstown/ Lidcome Hospital – Lvl 4 Contact: Wendy Oliver, 9722 7300, Wendy.Oliver@swsahs.nsw.gov.au ANCAN: a Minute on Your Motions Conference Date: 22 June, 8.30am – 4pm, St George Leagues Club. RSVP by 8 June. Cost: members $50, non members $75. Contact: Cheryl Meade, 9570 1273 cherylmeade@msn.com Australian Ophthalmic Nurses’ Association Annual Conference ‘A Growing Vision: AONA looks forward’ Date: 23 June, Sofitel Wentworth Contact: Cheryl Moore, 9382 7409, Cheryl.Moore@SESIAHS.health.nsw.gov.au

Association of Gerontology. Date: 9 – 10 July, David Maddison Building (King St, Newcastle). Contact: 1300 368 783 info@eastcoastconferences.com.au Adolescent and Young People’s Health Research Forum Date: 20 July, 8.15am – 5.pm, University of Western Sydney Parramatta Campus. Contact: Michel Edenborough, 9685 9080, m.edenborough@uws.edu.au Working With Risk In Midwifery Practice Conference Date: 20 July, 8.30am to 4.30pm, Rydges Camperdown. Cost: $100 Contact: Maureen Ryan, Head, Low Risk Obstretrics, 9515 8416 rpawb.research@email.cs.nsw.gov.au 4th International AIDS Society Conf. – HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment & Preventions Date: 22 – 25 July, Sydney Visit www.ias2007.org NSW BFHI (Baby Friendly Health Initiative) Seminar Date: 26 – 27 July, Dubbo RSL Club Contact: 9350 3192, elizabeth. steinlein@sesiash.health.nsw.gov.au SWAN XV Trauma Conference Date: 27 – 28 July, Liverpool Hospital Contact: Thelma Allen, 9828 3927, Thelma.allen@swsahs.nsw.gov.au www.swsahs.nsw.gov.au/livtrauma

Clinical Nurse Consultants Association Development Day Date: 29 June, College of Nursing, Burwood Contact: CNCAN office, 9745 9614 Email: cncan@nursing.aust.edu.au

Smart Strokes, 3rd Australasian Nursing & Allied Health Stroke Conference Date: 2 – 3 August, Star City Contact: Hanna Ulkuniemi, 9437 9333, smartstrokes@conferenceaction.com.au

SSWAHS – 2 July 2007 On 2 July, SSWAHS becomes a smoke free environment. Therefore a smoking ban will be enforced on all hospital grounds.

NSW Midwives Association State Conference – ‘Climbing Mountains: Adventures in Midwifery’ Dates: 3 – 4 August, Peppers Fairmont Resort – Leura. Contact: Alex Weston, 9281 9522 Email: admin@nswmidwives.com.au

University of Newcastle Conference: Does Gender Matter in Ageing? In association with the Australian

Navigating Neuro Neuroscience Conf. Date: 4 August, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong Contact: Narelle Walton, 4253 4403, Email: Terese.Kathleen.Pinkis@sesiahs. health.nsw.gov.au The Children’s Hospital Westmead – NAHRC. Paediatric Research Seminar 2007: Creating Futures. Abstracts are invited for presentation on completed or ‘in progress’ clinical research or practice/service improvement projects. Seminar date: 29 August Contact: Donna Rose, 9845 0412, donnar@chw.edu.au Australian Asthma Respiratory Education Association. Five days asthma education basic training course. Date: 27 – 31 August, Children’s Hospital, Westmead Contact: Lucy Keatley, 0411 212 303 Email: keatley@ozemail.com.au Web: www.aareducation.com NSW Nurses’ Association 7th Professional Issues Conference Date: 5 October, Swiss Grand Resort & Spa, Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach. Cost: members $85, non-members $100 Contact: Carolyn Culling 8595 1234

INTERSTATE AND OVERSEAS Optimising Patient Flow & Safety Conf. 2007 – ‘Unravelling the patient journey & harnessing patient-centred care’ Date: 4 – 5 June, Mercure Htl Brisbane. Contact: 9223 2600, info@iqpc.com.au Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia 2007 Conference ‘Regional Perspectives in Practice’ Date: 11 – 13 July, Whyalla, SA Contact: James Mabbutt, Conf. Committee, 9515 6281, www.danaconference.com 8th National Rural & Remote Social Work, Welfare, Community Health Conf. – Beyond the Great Divide,

Bringing Communities Together Date: 12 – 13 July, Echuca, Victoria Visit www.aasw.asn.au The Mental Health Services (The MHS) 17th Annual Conference ’20-20 Vision: Looking Toward Excellence in Mental Health Care in 2020’ Date: 4 – 7 Sept, Melbourne Convention Ctr Contact: 9810 8700, info@themhs.org Registration available from May 2007 via the the MHS website, www.themhs.org 9th National Conference – Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses (CATSIN) Older, stronger wiser Date: 19 – 21 Sept, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Alice Springs NT Deadline for abstracts: 30 May. Contact: Susan Day Ph: 8850 8317 Email: days@wyeth.com 3rd Annual Australian Nurse Practitioner Association Conference ‘Nurse Practitioners: Change, Choice and Challenges’ Date: 21 – 22 Sept, Sheraton Hotel, Perth. Contact: 9954 4400, anpa@dcconferences.com.au, www.dcconferences.com.au/anpa2007 Australian Assoc. of Gerontology 40th National Conference – ‘BeyOND 2007, Ageing: Evolution & Revolution’ Date: 21 – 23 Nov, Hilton Adelaide, SA Contact: Jane Howarth, aag@eastcoastconferences.com.au www.aagconference.com Nurses’ Conference 2007 – 2nd Annual Conference for All Nurses Date: 3 – 4 December, 66 Goulburn St, Sydney. Cost $438.90 Contact: Samantha Steen (03) 9375 7311. Email: ausmed@ausmed.com.au

Reunions Concord General (Repat) Hospital – 30 Year Reunion. Where are they now? PTS Groups 123, 124, 125 & 126.

Improve Patient Care – Improve Your Skills – Learn Hypnosis Leon W. Cowen lectures at Aust Catholic University Nursing School and the Academy gives Nurses advanced standing in accredited courses Introductory and VETAB Accredited Professional Courses In house or distance or a combination available Certificate IV in Clinical Hypnotherapy (Reg: 91098NSW) or Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy (Reg: 91099NSW) Hypnosis - Enhances existing treatments Hypnosis is arguably the fastest growing psychological therapy

For information: (02) 9415 6500, email admin@aah.edu.au or visit our website www.aah.edu.au 1st Flr 302 Pacific Hwy Lindfield NSW 2070 Telephone: (02) 9415 6500 Website: www.aah.edu.au Email: admin@aah.edu.au Executive Director: Leon W. Cowen DCH, Dip Hyp Mast (USA), Grad Dip App Hyp, Mast CH, FAHA, MATMS

48 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

Diary Dates

Date: 9 June. Contact: Julie Ferguson, 4621 5000 or 0439 485 349, julie. ferguson@swsahs.nsw.gov.au Port Kembla Hospital Reunion Date: 13 July, 6.30pm – 11.30pm Rydges Hotel, Burelli Street, Wollongong $75pp includes buffet, beverages and entertainment. Booking prior to 31 May Contact: Helen or Jocelyn, 0438 695 076, portkemblareunion@yahoo.com.au Concord General (Repat) Hospital – 50 year reunion Searching for nurses who did their training at Concord General from 1958-1962. Anyone who has any info please contact Jeanette Bundy on 6341 2818 or write to 2/33 Logan St, Cowra NSW 2794

Diary Dates is a free service for members. Please send the diary dates details, in the same format used here – event, date, venue, contact details, via email, fax, mail and the web before the 5th of the month prior, for example: 5th of August for September Lamp. Send information to: Editorial Enquiries Email: lamp@nswnurses.asn.au Fax: 9550 3667, mail: PO Box 40 Camperdown NSW 1450

Commercial Club Albury. Cost $30pp (buffet included). RSVP and Payment must be made by 4 August. Contact: Helen Allen, 6040 6980 helenallen@ozemail.com.au

Social event Shoalhaven Hospital Charity Ball Date: 28 July, from 6.30pm, Bomaderry Bowling Club. Cost $60 Contact: Michael Clarke (04) 3757 7792, michael.clarke@sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au Your Rights At Work – is Now On MySpace! http://www.myspace.com/rightsatwork

Crossword solution

Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital Emergency Department Reunion Date: 11 August, 2pm, Carnarvon Golf Club, Nottingham St, Lidcombe. Contact: Joanne Huggett 0408 256 586 Email: johug@bigpond.com

Please double-check all information sent is correct. The Lamp cannot guarantee that the issue will always be mailed in time for the listed event. Due to high demands on the page, some dates too close to publication or

too far in the future may be cut. The dates that are to be printed are for three months in total. For example, in the March Lamp = March, April, May dates will be printed. Only Diary Dates with an advised date and contact person will be published. Diary Dates are also on the web – www.nswnurses.asn.au Special Interest Groups Special Interest Groups is now part of Diary Dates. If you are a special interest group, you now must send information about your event as above.

Send us your snaps If you’re having a reunion, send us some photos and any information from the night, and we’ll publish them.

5th Australasian Conference on Safety and Quality in Health Care Co-hosted by the Australasian Association for Quality in Health Care and the Australian Council on Healthcare Brisbane Standards. Key partners: Queensland Exhibition & Health and the Australian Commission Convention Centre on Safety and Quality in Health Care. 6–8 August 2007

Albury Mercy Hospital – Reunion Of Past & Present Employees Date: 25 August, 11am – 4pm,

REGISTER NOW

For more info or to register go to www.aaqhc.org.au/conf2007.php

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THE LAMP JUNE 2007 49

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“Unleashed and on the Prowl!” C A L L F O R A B ST R AC T S All Nursing and Midwifery Unit Managers are invited to present at the Annual N&MUMS Conference to be held on Friday 19 October 2007 at the Taronga Zoo Function Centre, Sydney. The content must reflect this year’s theme in relation to a midwifery or nursing leadership activity within the healthcare system. It can be your recent innovations or research, in either written or poster presentation. Written submissions must be at least 200-250 words. Prizes will be awarded to the two best papers and posters at the conference.

Get unleashed! The closing date will be on Friday, 3rd July 2007. Mailing Instructions and Enquiries to: Ms Sheila Ryan: Sheila_Ryan@wsahs.nsw.gov.au • Ph: 9845 6130 Ms Prescilla Luzon: luzonp@email.cs.nsw.gov.au • Ph: 9767 8493 Ms Samantha Faithfull: sfaithfull@stvincents.com.au • Ph: 8382 2463

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Members Equity Bank (SMHL)

CBA (Complete Home Loan)

NAB (Tailored Home Loan)

ANZ (Standard Home Loan)

Westpac (Premium Option)

Standard variable rate

7.49% p.a.

8.07% p.a.

8.07% p.a.

8.07% p.a.

8.07% p.a.

Comparison rate#

7.49% p.a.

8.19% p.a.

8.20% p.a.

8.11% p.a.

8.20% p.a.

Monthly repayments*

$1107.51

$1176.67

$1177.67

$1168.68

$1177.67

–

You pay $20,746 more

You pay $21,046 more

You pay $18,349 more

You pay $21,046 more

How much more do you pay with big banks? #

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# The savings compares the comparison rate (7.49% p.a.) for a Members Equity Super Members Standard Variable Rate Home Loan (SMHL) with the major banks comparison rates (as listed). Sourced by Infochoice. com.au - 02 March 2007. All comparison rates are for Standard Variable Rate Home Loans of $150,000 for a term of 25 years, repaid monthly. It is assumed interest rates and fees remain unchanged for the full loan term, all repayments are made on time and no additional payments are made. The features of these home loans may vary. In some circumstances lenders (including those shown in this table) may offer loans with lower rates. WARNING: These comparison rates are true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in different comparison rates. A comparison rate schedule is available from Members Equity Bank. Fees and charges apply. Terms and conditions available on request. Applications are subject to credit approval. All interest rates are current as at 16/03/2007 and are subject to change. *Monthly repayment is calculated based on the comparison rate of the respective bank. 55731 03/07 55567/0307 52 THE LAMP JUNE 2007

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