Ms O’CONNOR – I’m interested in getting a picture of the health of the Health workforce. This is a question I asked last year, Mr Webster will recall. It would be helpful to have a picture of how many healthcare workers across Tas Health are on sick leave this year? How many are on workers’ compensation? And the long‑term absence data?
Mrs ARCHER – I can give you some general information. Paid personal leave – is that the information that you’re seeking? Paid personal leave taken as a percentage of paid FTE was 5.33 per cent, which is an increase of 0.09 percentage points since June 2024.
Ms O’CONNOR – Do you have what it was at June 2019?
Mrs ARCHER – 2019? We might have to take that one on notice, Ms O’Connor.
Ms O’CONNOR – And do you have – does that cover workers’ compensation and the workers’ compensation costs to Tas Health?
Mrs ARCHER – The total number of new workers’ compensation claims received for the 2024‑25 financial year was 727. New claims for 2024‑25 have increased by 16.3 per cent, compared to the previous financial year when 625 new claims were received; 72 per cent or 527 of new claims in 2024‑25 were for physical injuries; 28 per cent or 200 of new claims were for psychological injuries, in that same period.
At the end of the first quarter of the 2025‑26 financial year, 192 new claims had been received – which is slightly lower than the same time last year, which was 198 claims last year in that period; 67 per cent or 128 of new claims for the first quarter of 2025‑26 year were for physical injuries, and 33 per cent or 64 were for psychological injuries. Those proportions are broadly in line with 2024‑25. The cost of physical claims in 2024‑25 increased 38 per cent and the cost of psychological claims increased 44 per cent compared to the previous financial year.
Ms O’CONNOR – Is it possible also, as with the last question, to have that data from 2019?
Mrs ARCHER – Yes, I think so. We will have to take it out on notice, though.
Ms O’CONNOR – And to assist our staff, is it possible to have some written record of the metrics you used, in order that we get the equivalent metrics for 2019?
Mrs ARCHER – I think so.
Ms O’CONNOR – It sounds like the hospitals are becoming less safe places if you’ve got claims for physical injuries soaring at that level. What’s that about? What do the system managers understand that to be about, and how do you mitigate it?
Mrs ARCHER – Well, certainly there has been an independent review for Tasmanian emergency departments to identify opportunities to improve staff safety and security, including: considering the current security model and existing security and safety protocols as well as staff training and induction, and current physical security including CCTV, duress alarms, access control, and protective clothing. And, a safety and security steering committee was established to take immediate action and develop a long-term strategy.
From this work, a 10‑point plan was created, which extends beyond emergency departments to cover all four major hospitals and hopefully, over time, all health services. The 10‑point plan was launched in January this year, and key actions include:
- reviewing the hospital’s safety and security model,
- including established, dedicated and highly-trained security teams in each region,
- introducing a new audit framework to identify priorities,
- developing a critical incident response model to ensure that staff get timely and appropriate support,
- updating security policies in managing challenging behaviours,
- enhancing training and education for staff,
- strengthening governance to oversee ongoing security improvements and ongoing engagement with union representatives and key stakeholders, and to support this new emergency department with further training underway.
There are regional project support officers working in the south, north and northwest to assist with the roll out of the 10-point plan.
A contemporary audit process is also now in place measuring performance against 50 security principles with the current focus on CCTV, duress alarms, facility access and security of pharmaceuticals.
A new security handbook has been developed to support staff with education and local risk-management, and there are additional initiatives including a communications campaign which you may have seen to promote respect for healthcare workers, encouragement of incident reporting, and installation of new CCTV cameras at the Northwest Regional Hospital, and also engagement with Work Safe to ensure that workplace safety remains front of mind.
Then there over the next three months the immediate priority areas include: developing a new specialised internal security model based on a proactive safety and support ethos; continuing close engagement with unions and key stakeholders; identifying and implementing a new accredited training model for occupational violence prevention which is scalable, adaptable and suited to all areas of health; establishing a statewide training delivery structure; developing a new support strategy for staff affected by critical incidents; completing a statewide policy gap analysis to ensure consistency across regions; and progressing work on requirements under the security of critical incident act and the protective security policy framework.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, Minister. To get to the bottom of what these injuries are. From your answer, it’s strongly implied that a significant proportion of those in injuries are about healthcare worker-to-patient interactions. Are you able to – Mr Webster’s frowning – but I wouldn’t mind getting some more granular detail on what kind of injuries we’re talking about here. Are they – given that the focus seems to be in the plan on security measures and no other system measures to prevent injury. It would be good to have a more granular understanding of what those are.
Mrs ARCHER – Yes, and obviously they run across the full spectrum, both these types of injuries, but also workplace injuries in relation to obviously what can be quite physical work as well, and also at times a psychologically difficult working environment as well. I will ask the secretary if you can provide some greater detail.
Ms O’CONNOR – In that, is what we’re seeing an increase in violence within our hospital system?
Mrs ARCHER – We’re also seeing more – just to jump in before I hand to you – you’re also seeing some more complex patient presentations, which is partly linked, I think, to that stranded-patient issue as well, for example.
Ms O’CONNOR – Frustration.
Mrs ARCHER – And just complex aged care patients, for example, with more complex behaviour, but I will ask the secretary.
Ms O’CONNOR – Certainly, I think it would be good to understand whether what we’re dealing with here is an issue of increased violence towards healthcare workers within health settings.
Mr WEBSTER – Yes, we are and that’s been an increasing trend over a number of years across Australia and in fact, you know a number of countries where we’re seeing that. A response to that needs to build infrastructure that, if you like, mitigate some of that. An example from a previous workplace is, in fact, where a workplace that actually removed huge physical barriers between consumers and the workers and instead put wider front desks in so that the reach was the factor rather than a physical barrier, actually saw a drop in physical aggression towards staff. It’s things like that revisiting, so the minister –
CHAIR – As long as they’re not armed.
Mr WEBSTER – The minister talked about our safety and security program, but in addition to that we have running alongside that our workplace health and safety team constantly doing reviews of what else is in there. That can be everything from slips – our physical claims can be anything from slips-and-falls to the weight of trolleys being pushed. Our psychological claims tend to be more of the reaction to aggression and things like that. We have programs across all of that –
Ms O’CONNOR – Sorry to interrupt, but is there some data that breaks down the nature of the injuries?
Mr WEBSTER – There is, and I thought we had it with us, but we will be able to provide that.
Ms O’CONNOR – We can put that on notice. One of the measures you’ve talked about is around personal protective equipment. Could you please let us know what the PPE budget is today, because you can’t see that within the budget papers and what it was on 30 June 2019?
Mrs ARCHER – While he’s having a look for that, I can also give you a little bit of information about a couple of the initiatives the department has also enacted on well‑being and staff well‑being.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, minister. With all due respect, we have limited time at the table. The question wasn’t about well‑being, it’s trying to get to the bottom of the data on what’s being invested in personal protective equipment to protect the health, not only of healthcare workers, but also of patients.
Mr WEBSTER – I am advised we can’t break that down in the way that you’re suggesting because obviously, PPE for us is a massive expenditure in ward‑by‑ward basis, and getting that data on what we’re spending on everything, from masks through to –
CHAIR – Do you have a global figure?
Ms O’CONNOR – Mr Webster, you will recall last year in the other estimates committee, I asked you this question and there was a data set that told us what the investment in PPE was at that time, relative to 2019. Therefore, I am sure there is some information that would satisfy the question broadly.
CHAIR – What can be provided, minister?
Mr WEBSTER – I am advised by my chief financial officer that we were tracking it as part of our COVID activity, but it’s not an ongoing tracking.
Ms O’CONNOR – On what basis would you stop understanding how much is being spent on personal protective equipment in order to protect your health workforce? Is it because questions are being asked about it? Or is it because it’s too hard?
Mr WEBSTER – Because it’s too hard. PPE is almost a standard item for us because of how much we use across every ward, every service, et cetera. We will endeavour to get as much as we can, but it is embedded in lots of cost centres and there is an ability to order it. Whereas during COVID, because of the amounts that we’re getting and sharing with public and aged care, et cetera.
CHAIR – Let us finish this. We have other matters we want go to.
Ms O’CONNOR – Yes, I understand that. To try and get to the bottom of this question. Last year when I asked for this information, there had been a significant drop in investment in personal protective equipment for healthcare workers. Given the discussion that we’ve just had about injuries, and long‑term workers compensation, can you confirm or give any indication whether or not the decline in PPE spending has continued. Whether the decline in PPE investment has continued, or whether, as a consequence of what we’re seeing in injuries, the hospital has indeed upped its expenditure on protecting its workforce and its patients from, for example, infectious diseases like COVID?
Mr WEBSTER – Through the COVID emergency, there were a number of orders issued by the Director of Public Health right across health services, as well as the population. Our expenditure on PPE through that period was much higher than the needs of just the THS because we were supplying into aged carers as they needed it, and into disability services. We were providing PPE, in fact, through Service Tasmania to the public, as well. You would expect that at the end of the emergency, there would be a reduction in what we’re spending on PPE. There is no strategy to limit PPE within our hospitals or health services. It is a standard stock item and we want to keep it available to staff and on wards where it’s required. They’re still using masks, et cetera as required, but there’s no deliberate strategy to reduce –
Ms O’CONNOR – surgical masks.
Mr WEBSTER – well, again, depending on the ward –
CHAIR – I think we need to move on from this, we’ve spent a lot of time on this. I’m going to go back to Sarah.
Ms O’CONNOR – Can I ask about Milo?
CHAIR – No, not at the moment.
Ms O’CONNOR – That’s in systems management and how workers are treated. I think it’s a reasonable question.
CHAIR – Just something quickly, then.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, Chair.
There’s been a number put on the savings that the system will need to find in the next year, which we know is aspirational at best, but there’s some sign that some of the savings that have been made in the system are kind of silly and self‑defeating. If you want to look after doctors, nurses, pharmacists, other allied healthcare workers, who are sometimes doing double shifts or extra long shifts, why would you take the Milo and the cheese out of the kitchen, and is that still the case?
Mrs ARCHER – I have heard about the Milo. I’ll ask the secretary to –
Ms O’CONNOR – Yes. I’ve heard from some grumpy healthcare workers who can’t leave the building to get lunch and so that’s been a staple to get through the shift.
CHAIR – Has the Milo been removed?
Ms O’CONNOR – Is it still gone?
Mr WEBSTER – The Milo hasn’t been removed.
CHAIR – Just locked in a cupboard, no?
Mr WEBSTER – No. There has been a review in one of our hospitals of the ordering processes and the volumes of product going into staff tearoom areas, but if you go to those staff tearooms – as I have since that’s occurred – there are stocks of things like tea, coffee, Milo.
I would say that a number of dietitians have written to me saying that Milo shouldn’t be in the tearooms, just to balance that.
Ms O’CONNOR – Sure, but – I mean, it has been appreciated by staff for a long time, so to take something like that away seems very self‑defeating.
Mr WEBSTER – I appreciate that. It hasn’t been taken away. It is about the ordering processes; it’s about the interpretation of those. We revisited those. If you visit tearooms across the network, you will find there is stocks of the product they need.
My most recent visit was to the emergency department’s tearoom at the Royal. In fact, there –
Ms O’CONNOR – What was in the kitchen?
Mr WEBSTER – There was a container full of cheese, there was a drawer full of crackers, there was Milo, there was T2, there was a drawer of bread. So, there are product still going into tearooms. It’s just that what we’re doing is trying to remind people that excessive ordering and throwing-out of product and things like that just isn’t appropriate in this day and age. But, there has not been a service‑wide determination that we’re not supplying product into our tearooms.
