Medical scientists at Launceston General Hospital have walked off the job for 30 minutes to protest the government’s ‘inaction’ on recruiting more staff.
The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) says understaffing is causing delays in essential testing and forcing the hospital to send samples to the private sector.
“Pathology workers are currently facing a critical shortage, with a measurable increase in demand and no further workers employed to meet that demand,” HACSU industrial manager Lucas Digney said.
“This shortfall is leading to significant and unacceptable challenges, which in turn are causing delays and preventing the Tasmanian community from receiving vital test results that are essential for their health.”
Medical scientist Ryan Taylor said the lab is short 17 staff members, with those working doing the jobs of two or three people each.
“Members want to do the best they can with limited resources, but it’s gotten to a point now where our pathology staff are generally concerned about patient safety and whether we can provide the service that our population,” he said.
“If you get sick in hospital, you will need pathology. We provide a vital service, but we’ve had a 20% increase in testing volume in the last three or four years and we haven’t had any substantial increase in staffing to match that demand.”
Health Minister Guy Barnett insists the government is working with the union to address recruitment issues.
“The unions have an agenda and I respect their ability to prosecute that but we also have an agenda to build a better health system,” he said.
“We had some very productive discussions yesterday and I was really pleased with that.”
