Hundreds of St Vincent’s Private Hospitals’ nurses and midwives have walked out of their workplaces as part of an escalation of their unprecedented protected industrial action campaign for mandated nurse/midwife patient ratios and competitive wages and conditions with their public colleagues.
“Hundreds of St Vincent’s Private Hospitals nurses and midwives have courageously taken this unprecedented action, regardless of pressure they are under from their employer, because they want to make sure they have the time and resources to deliver the level of care that patients deserve,” said Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Victorian Branch Acting Secretary Madeleine Harradence
St Vincent’s Private members were joined by Health Care and Churches of Christ members who are also undertaking protected industrial action.
The ANMF Victorian Branch has been negotiating nurses’ and midwives’ wages and conditions for members at St Vincent’s Private Hospitals in Fitzroy, East Melbourne, Werribee and Kew.
While there had been some improvements to pay and conditions offered, management continued to refuse improved patient safety, understaffing and high patient workloads by introducing mandated, minimum nurse/midwife patient ratios across its four hospitals.
Victorian public hospitals have had minimum ratios in their enterprise agreement since 2001 and in legislation since 2015. The Victorian Government has legislated further improvements, and additional increases will occur in the current term.
In 2023, St Vincent’s Private Hospitals agreed to ratios in their NSW enterprise agreement for three of its hospitals.
Patients paying high health insurance fees would be surprised to know there were fewer nurses caring for them on the wards in private than the public, said Ms Harradence.
“A surgical ward at the public St Vincent’s Hospital must roster at least one nurse for every four patients on the morning and afternoon shift, but the same specialty at St Vincent’s Private Hospitals could have a nurse caring for five, six or more patients.
“A public sector postnatal ward must have one midwife for six patients on night shift but at St Vincent’s Private it is usually one midwife to eight or nine and on occasion it can even be one midwife caring for up to 10 new mums and their babies.”
ANMF is also seeking pay parity with public sector nurses and midwives including new and improved allowances and more than 40 improved entitlements and working conditions.
