News Flash

PSA members in Flinders Medical Centre, Medical Records achieved a significant win on Monday after placing bans on working with overcrowded and unsafe medical records and storage areas. PSA members called on the Southern Adelaide Health Service Chief Executive to take long running Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare issues seriously. PSA representatives met with Flinders Medical Centre General Manager/ Executive Director Acute Services – Southern Adelaide Health Service and the following outcomes were achieved:

• Four casual staff will be employed to assist with the manual culling of files in Medical Records to ease tight or unmanageable files and to assist with the move of files to the 40 bays currently available.

• Finance records will be moved off site to provide an additional 100 bays for Medical Records storage in the tunnels. Additional Casual staff are to be provided to assist with the culling and moving of files.

• Contractors to be provided to assist with moving medical records as required.

• Injury Risk Management will undertake safety assessments at least once per week.

• An additional ongoing administrative officer position is supported.

• Overtime can be accessed on an as needs basis.

• A working group, including PSA member representatives, will be established to explore options to ensure the overcrowding of storage areas will not occur again.

• There is no expectation from FMC Management that Medical Records staff will work in an unsafe environment. Medical Records staff will continue to ensure their own safety by not working with overcrowded files.

PSA members in Flinders Medical Centre – Medical Records should be congratulated, they proved that positive outcomes can be achieved by joining the Union, staying strong, supporting each other and working together with the PSA.

If Medical Records members in other PSA work sites/hospitals are experiencing overcrowding of storage areas or workload issues they should contact the PSA Hot Line in the first instance, ph: 8205 3227.

3 March 2010