St George Hospital nurses have been advised this afternoon that non-inpatient Renal Dialysis Services will be transferred to a private operator as part of a South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) ‘business plan’.
Nurses have been given less than three months to decide whether they transfer to the new private service provider or be redeployed to other wards or units within the hospital.
NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said the news was further confirmation of the NSW Government’s agenda to privatise our public health services.
“Less than two months ago we were told of this government’s plans to privatise five regional hospitals and now they’re targeting our metro health facilities. We’ve been accused of ‘scaremongering’ when suggesting the Coalition is on a path to Americanise our health system but this substantiates our claim that the Baird has an obvious mission to hand over the responsibility and control of our public health services to private corporations,” Mr Holmes said.
“Again, we’ve been kept in the dark until the last minute and then advised last thing on a Friday afternoon about plans that will have a huge impact not just staff, but the community that literally rely on this public service to survive.
“If this goes ahead, public ambulant patients requiring renal dialysis will be shifted to a private operator.
“We will fight this with everything we’ve got to send a message to the Baird government that our public hospitals services should not be gifted to private operators.”
According to SESLHD, the St George Renal Dialysis Satellite tender will be publically released on 11 November 2016 with new services commencing operations in the second half of 2017.
Download this media release: Baird’s privatisation frenzy hits city hospitals
