Hospitals cancel surgery

Press, 13 December 1985, Page 1

Hospitals cancel surgery

Elective surgery at Christchurch hospitals has been cancelled for the three days of the planned nurses’ industrial action, due to begin on Tuesday. The chairman of the Canterbury Hospital Board, Mr Tom Grigg, said that while nurses had undertaken to provide care for those acutely ill, over-all patient care would suffer if the action went ahead. It was unreasonable for people in a caring profession to be contemplating action in view of the pay offers which had been made, he said. People due for non-urgent surgery on the days of the planned action would be inconvenienced and some would be in discomfort, said Mr Grigg. Nurses told the board yesterday that they would not care for routine surgery patients or non-acute admissions. Non-urgent admissions at Christchurch Hospital’s accident and emergency department would not

be attended by nurses and outpatients clinics would not be staffed. Nurses would provide full emergency care and there would be skeleton staff on general wards. The southern regional officer of the Nurses’ Association, Ms Steph Breen, said normal staff numbers would remain in coronary care and intensive care, and in delivery, neonatal, and geriatric wards. Skeleton staff on general wards would give medication, check on vital signs of seriously ill patients, and provide full emergency care. Full care would also be given to bedridden patients, said Ms Breen. At least two registered nurses would be on general wards at all times, she said. Those staff would not do non-essential clerical work or answer telephones and would not empty rubbish bins or restock linen cupboards.

While staffing levels would be well down in many wards all nurses would be available for work

and those not on the wards would gather in a central place in each hospital. This would ensure that all staff were on hand in the event of a big emergency, said Ms Breen Nurses seek further talks to discuss, pay claims above the offer made in November by the Minister of Health, Dr Bassen. Mr Grigg said that efforts would be made to keep outpatients services running although some delays for patients would occur. Volunteer workers who normally arranged flowers or read to patients had also been asked to contact their co-ordinators in hospitals because of the possibility of doing more work during the action by nurses, he said. Volunteers would not be asked to do work normally done by nurses, said Mr Grigg.. It was not known if doctors would be called upon to do nursing duties and much would depend on how far nurses took the action, he said. The industrial officer of

the Nurses’ Association, Mr Neville Taylor, said that the 14 days notice of industrial action and five days warning of specific measures had given hospitals sufficient time to make arrangements. “They have had time to make any necessary arrangements and we have received no complaints,” he said. While an industrial mediator, Mr Maurice Teen, had been appointed to examine the dispute and report to the Government, the threat of action still stood. Mr Taylor said he was hopeful the report would be made before Tuesday and a further hearing of the

nurses’ pay claims could be arranged. A spokesman for Dr Bassett, said that there was optimism that the dispute could be solved before the nurses took action. The talks between Dr Bassett, the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, and. association representatives earlier this week might result in a settlement, he said. Mr Taylor said planned action at hospitials throughout New Zealand varied depending on the state of existing services in each area.

“Some are already so badly run down they are operating with skeleton staff as it is,” he said. The nurses’ action would' not endanger patients but was an expression of frustration and concern about low pay and staff levels, said Mr Taylor. “We really put a lot of effort into ensuring that there will be no danger to patients,” he said. The planned industrial action is the first in the associatioin’s 76-year history.

Thirty-three people who were booked to have nonurgent medical care at Wairau Hospital, in Blenheim, may have their treatment delayed because of the planned industrial action. The Marlborough Hospital board’s chief nurse, Mrs Glenys Baldwick, sent letters to them yesterday advising them of the possibility of a delay.