News
4th February, 2022
Surge Response – When will we return to normal?
As discussed in our Bulletin dated 17 January 2022, the VAU recently wrote to the Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley regarding the Surge Response.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), Victorian Ambulance Union (VAU) Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association (VAHPA), Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation, Victorian Branch (ASMOFV), Health and Community Services Union (HACSU), Medical Scientists Association Victoria (MSAV) and Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch (ADAVB) wrote to the Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley.
In that letter we stated that it is of utmost importance that surge workforce measures introduced to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic such as reliance on external volunteers to fill shifts, are removed as soon as safely practicable so that health professionals can continue to work under their normal agreed workplace industrial arrangements and legislation to ensure that patients receive the highest standard of care.
The Unions received the following written response on 3 February 2022 which can be viewed here.
The Minister states:
“I confirm that it is our clear commitment to wind back ‘emergency’ workforce arrangements as soon as safely practicable, both in terms of emergency public health settings and workforce surge roles. This includes the declaration of the pandemic ‘Code Brown’ that came into effect for major Victorian health services on 19 January 2022.
“Surge workforce measures introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be reviewed and wound down as soon as safely practicable. Redeployed healthcare workers will be supported to return to their substantive employment and the applicable normal agreed workplace industrial/legislative arrangements. Health services will be instructed to return to models of care that are consistent with pre-pandemic settings.”
Separately the Healthcare Worker Infection Prevention and Wellbeing Taskforce, which the VAU is a member of, met on 20 January 2022 and will continue to meet through 2022. The focus of the taskforce will shift towards a recovery plan for healthcare workers after the strain of working through the pandemic.
SPARE FOR SURGE
Surge workers are utilised to cover vacancies caused by the furloughing of paramedics and ambulance workers and increased COVID workload. Paramedics are not to be placed on rural spare in order to vacate lines to make may for surge workers.
The VAU have raised this with AV and have been told categorically this should not be occurring and asked to provide examples of where this is occurring.
If members have been placed onto ‘spare’ in order to make way for surge workers, please inform the VAU at [email protected].
In solidarity