HACSU radiographers, sonographers and nuclear medicine technologists at the Royal Hobart Hospital are today stepping up industrial action by putting a ban on operating the government’s new $8 million dollar CT/Angio suite. The suite, which was due to open today, will not be used until the government urgently intervenes to fix the department’s staffing crisis.
This accompanies other work bans members have put in place around the processing of referral forms, answering phones, and not completing mandatory training.
The department is currently running at 30% vacancy rates as the low wages of medical imaging professionals in the public sector means that staff are flocking to private employers and other states where pay is as much as $10 an hour more.
“Our medical imaging services continue to be plagued with critical staffing shortages, yet the government continues to drag its feet on committing to and implementing a market allowance to attract and retain staff, which means the community is left with further reduced services and cancelled appointments,” HACSU State Secretary Robbie Moore says.
“If the government can’t properly invest in their workforce, they can’t expect medical imaging workers to spread themselves even thinner to operate new facilities.”
Union members in medical imaging do not take the decision to put a ban on using the new suite lightly but feel that they have been left with no other choice amid feeling ignored by the Health Minister Guy Barnett.