WA Liberal Leader and Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam has called on the WA Labor
Government to immediately overhaul fatigue management in public hospitals to ensure
nurses are not working unsafe hours.
Ms Mettam said fatigue management regulations existed in many other sectors, including
transport and mining, however nurses in our public hospitals were regularly working double
and sometimes triple shifts, putting both themselves and patients at risk.
Responding to reports of a specialist paediatric nurse at Albany Hospital working a 29.5-hour
shift to ensure continuity of care amid a staff shortage, Ms Mettam said nurses were
consistently being asked to work unsafe hours, jeopardising both their safety and that of the
public.
“While I appreciate her commitment to her patients and colleagues, no health worker should
be put in a position where this is even an option,” Ms Mettam said.
“While double shifts were rare eight years ago, it is concerning that they are now
commonplace in our public hospital sector.
“We know that WA nurses will always try to go above and beyond to ensure patients are
cared for, but the WA Labor Government cannot continue to ask and expect this critical
sector to work double and triple shifts.
“Working a 24-hour shift is incredibly unsafe for both patients and staff. I doubt any other
industry would allow staff to operate in such conditions without strict fatigue management
protocols in place yet the health sector is continually expected to do so.
“There is a clear need for some more stringent controls and protocols around this dangerous
practice but despite all the Minister’s talking points and media releases on fixing staff
shortages and reviewing these practices, the reality on the ground remains the same.
“The WA health system remains critically under-resourced, and patient and staff safety is
being compromised.
“Until there is some clear action from the Minister, it appears that our frontline health workers
will continue to shoulder the burden of a system in crisis.”
Ms Mettam said the Opposition also supported calls for Worksafe inquiries into two specific
incidents and urged the WA Labor Government to urgently progress those inquiries and
promptly release the findings.