United Voice News
Albany Health Campus sell off will threaten jobs and patient care
The LHMU and its members at Albany hospital have received correspondence from the state government which confirms Colin Barnett’s intention to sell off essential health services at the new Albany Health Campus, threatening around 100 government health jobs.
The letter says the government is putting tenders out for private firms to take over and run hospital cleaning, catering and maintenance services.
Carolyn Smith, assistant secretary of the LHMU, warned that any sell off would badly affect patient care and would lead to job losses.
“The last time a Liberal government privatised hospital services such as cleaning, catering and orderlies, there was chaos,” she said.
Taxpayer costs
“There were major outbreaks of MRSA, Golden Staph and Norovirus at the Royal Perth Hospital after Graham Kierath’s privatisation policy in the 1990s meant cleaning staff were cut back.
“Large areas of the hospital had to be closed down and special cleaning teams sent in which ended up costing the taxpayer more than the sell off had saved.
“At Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, the amount of orderlies were cut back to such an extent that the service was compromised. Patients would go for x-rays and were then left in corridors for hours because there was no one available to take them back to the ward.
“In 2000, the Court government ended up having to spend more public money to bring the service back in-house.”
Cheap service
Ms Smith also said that market pressures would inevitably see less health support workers employed at the hospital and on worse conditions.
“Contractors provide a cheap service to government because they pay poor wages, cut working hours for staff, and offer almost no reasonable conditions of employment. Nurses will have to pick up the slack, moving patients and cleaning,” she said.
“At the Peel Health Campus, which is operated by a private firm, enrolled nurses and health support workers like orderlies, patient care assistants and carers are all on inferior wages to their colleagues in government hospitals.
“But they are not doing a worse job or have less duties and responsibilities.
“LHMU members in Albany and in hospitals throughout WA will not stand for their jobs being privatised.”
Bitterly disappointed
One hospital support worker at Albany hospital said staff were bitterly disappointed and rumours were already circulating that maintenance jobs at the new hospital would be cut from 25 to 11.
“If it goes private then we lose out,” she said. “It’ll be our family members using this hospital as well. We don’t want the services privatised and cut for their sakes as well.”
