PSA and ADHB reach agreement over Te Whetu Tawera

PSA MEDIA RELEASE
20 September 2011
For Immediate Use

PSA and ADHB reach agreement over Te Whetu Tawera

The PSA and the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) have reached agreement on a plan to reduce the high number of assaults on mental health staff at Te Whetu Tawera and improve their difficult and unsafe work conditions.

The PSA, the country’s biggest union, represents the majority of nursing, allied and clerical staff working at the mental health in-patient facility.

Following a stop work meeting yesterday, PSA members and management have agreed a plan to reduce bed numbers in the short-term, commit to a 1:5 registered nurse-patient ratio on the open wards and better consultative processes.

PSA members staged protests in June about assaults and working conditions at Auckland City Hospital’s in-patient unit, Te Whetu Tawera. Negotiations around the plan have been underway since early September.

“We’re pleased that ADHB mental health management have listened to the pressing concerns that our members raised about health and safety at Te Whetu Tawera and agreed to these measures. This plan offers a real way forward,” says Brendon Lane, PSA Auckland Regional DHB Organiser.

“We are also pleased that the DHB has agreed to support the establishment of a body to promote collaboration, co-operation and best practice across regional mental health services. The Northern DHB Support Agency has already agreed to co-ordinate this,” says Brendon Lane.

ENDS

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