More than 3500 nurses and midwives in Brisbane will receive a second letter in the next few days from Queensland Health's Metro North region after one they received this week embarassingly speaks about 145 "staff dismissals".
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Those "staff dismissals" were today explained as voluntary redundancies in a badly-written cover letter to a massive restructuring at five hospitals.
The letter from the executive director of Metro North's director of nursing and midwifery services, Professor Lesley Flemming, talks of staff dismissals at the Royal Brisbane and Women's, Prince Charles, Redcliffe Caboolture and Kilcoy hospitals.
It says the restructure will look at "the number and category of employees likely to be dismissed, and the time when, or period over when, these dismissals are likely to occur".
Queensland Health insists no staff will be sacked and that the job reductions will be by way of voluntary redundancies.
However unions are incensed by the first letter and have today staged two walk-outs at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and the Prince Charles Hospital.
A spokesman for Health Minister Lawrence Springborg agreed the first letter was badly written, but insists no staff will be sacked.
He said a new letter to all nursing and midwifery staff was being prepared now.
EARLIER:
Voluntary redundancy packages are being offered to 140 older nurses and midwives in Brisbane’s north asking them to consider retiring, Queensland Health said.
Queensland Health needs new younger nurses, because they believe there will be a shortage of experienced nurses in 10 years time due to natural attrition.
Hundreds of nurses from the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and from the Prince Charles Hospital staged protest meetings against the moves on Thursday afternoon.
Some nurses believe they will be sacked.
Queensland Health’s Metro North health region has this week written to 3500 nurses and midwives asking if they would consider the voluntary redundancy packages.
Those letters ask for expressions of interest from nurses interested in the voluntary redundancies.
The health region plans to offer the positions which become available under the voluntary redundancy program, to new graduate nurses on short-term contract.
However, a Queensland Health Metro North spokeswoman said no nurses or midwives would be sacked.
‘‘There will be no forced redundancies, none,’’ she said.
‘‘We are calling for expressions of interest, if they want them.’’
It is understood at least 200 nursing staff expressed interest in a voluntary redundancy in previous offers.
Traditionally, 100 graduate nurse positions open up in the Metro North Health region through natural attrition each year.
The Metro North health region wants to boost that figure to 140 new graduates in the next 12 months.
An angry protest meeting with health union delegates, which has now finished, was held in Butterfield Street outside the hospital on Thursday afternoon, as the implications of the policy became apparent.
Another protest will be held at the Prince Charles Hospital at 3pm.
Queensland Nursing Union assistant secretary Des Elder said staff were furious that Queensland Health "wants to get rid of them".
"Feelings are running very high out here at the moment," he said.
Mr Elder said staff were bewildered by the decision because new nurse graduates need extra supervision and could be expected to provide the same level of service.
"Normally they take about 100 new graduates on top of their existing staff," he said.
"This year they are using the new graduates to replace the existing staff that they are sacking."
