Media release – Health and Community Services Union, 1 August 2023
“It’s a dangerous job”: Hospital attendants and medical orderlies forced to statewide industrial action
Medical orderlies and hospital attendants will today launch statewide industrial action to demand long-overdue recognition for putting themselves in harm’s way to keep patients safe – a plea the Department has ignored even after a near fatal stabbing at the NWRH proved without a doubt that this dangerous job demands proper classification.
Medical orderlies and hospital attendants’ specialised skills are the backbone of hospital operations. These workers are vital in responding to Code Blacks in times of crisis, supporting nurses and providing direct patient care, and transporting patients between wards and appointments.
“We’re here to help the patients and help keep everyone safe,” said Dean Clark, a medical orderly at the RHH. “It’s a dangerous job. We’re the ones who charge in first when things go wrong, and that means we often need to put the safety of others above our own.”
“What we’ve been asking is only fair. We’re completely gutted that we have been flat out ignored. We have been left with no options but to take action to make the Department listen.”
As part of the industrial action, which will commence from 12pm today, attendants and medical orderlies will cease patient transfers to and from private hospitals, stop collecting and disposing of placentas and refuse to run pathology items around public hospitals.
HACSU Industrial Manager Robbie Moore said, “Without medical orderlies and hospital attendants, our health system simply cannot function. The Department’s contempt toward them is appalling and must be rectified immediately.”
“Taking industrial action is not something these workers do lightly, and they have only resolved to commence action after months of attempting to fix these serious issues to no avail.“
