Nurses force Victorian Government into talks
The determined and resolute action by Victoria's nurses in defence of the crucial and hard-won nurse- patient ratios in the State's public hospitals has forced the Bracks' Government to back away from its planned Federal Court injunction. Health Minister John Thwaites has finally agreed to discussions with the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) after stalling for more than a month. Nurses met this week to decide on lifting their bans, which included the closure of 820 hospital beds across the State. All emergency admissions were excluded from the bans and no patients were put at risk. The union warned there was no guarantee that nurses would agree to lift the bans. "All along I've been saying you're not going to resolve this dispute through court actions", said ANF State Secretary, Belinda Morieson. "You can only resolve it if people of good will sit down at the negotiating table." On August 9 more than 2000 nurses attended state-wide stop work meetings and voted to close one in three public hospital beds in a last bid to protect nurse-patient ratios (see next week's Guardian for background to dispute). The ratio system, which the Government has undermined by shifting funding meant to fill nurse vacancies to other parts of the system, is essential to the maintenance of nursing numbers, the provision of quality care and the overall operations of the health system. The Government left nurses with no choice: "By closing beds, which is something nurses do not do easily, nurses are demonstrating their commitment to the community and the public health system and they are sure the community will support their action", said Ms Morieson at the August 9 mass meeting. She pointed to the danger to the health system posed by the Government's action. "If the State Government and the hospital employer representatives succeed in their attempts to abolish the principle of nurse-patient ratios then more than 3000 nurses will resign and the health system will collapse."