Ms ROSOL (Bass) – Honourable Speaker, I rise to speak about a planned reclassification of allied health positions within the Department of Health. Recently it came to light that a range of allied health positions are going to be downgraded across the health service. This is not just one role, and it’s not just one service. It’s down grading of many different allied health positions across a host of services, and what a terrible idea this is.
As level 3 positions become vacant across a whole range of jobs, they will be downgraded to level 2 or level 1 positions. That’s physios, social workers, pharmacists, dietitians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, orthotists, all those professionals who provide invaluable services to patients and do important work in supporting patients’ recovery and discharge. Their positions are being downgraded, and more junior, less experienced staff will be put into those roles, staff who cannot work unsupervised, staff who cannot take as big a caseload, staff who are not skilled enough to work with more complex cases, and you know what that’s going to do?
It is going to mean those more senior staff who remain will carry an even heavier clinical load. Not only will they be working with the high caseloads they already have, but they’ll need to work with more complex patients who need more time and greater intervention. Then they’ll have to have a higher caseload to pick up the slack created by junior staff who cannot carry as big a caseload and, on top of that, they will have to supervise the sudden increase in junior positions. What a disaster for allied health clinicians. And what a disaster for Tasmanian patients who don’t just need nurses and doctors for their care but also rely on allied health staff to help them avoid chest infections, get out of bed, relearn how to walk, manage their medications, swallow safely, regain speech after strokes, avoid foot ulcers, meet their nutritional needs, navigate stairs, get in and out of their homes, cope with stress and – I could go on.
Allied health clinicians provide essential support to patients across the health service, and the downgrading of their positions will have a significant impact. In response to the outcry about their move to reclassify positions, the government have euphemistically described the changes as realignment or role clarification or even sustainable workforce design. What a crock. These reclassifications are clearly a cut to the health service, a cynical way of saving money without cutting jobs, a stealthy downgrade of service within the Health Department.
They are the predictable outcome of the $700 million in cuts to the health budget that the government has budgeted for the next four years. The Greens aren’t falling for the euphemism and spin of this government, and neither are the public. They can see through this sham streamlining. They know those cuts; they are cuts and they know patient services will be impacted.
Another worrying impact of this down grading of services is the effect on staff. I’ve already referred to the increased pressure this will place on more experienced staff as they carry a heavier clinical and supervisory role.
What a disrespect this also is to current allied health professionals. To suggest that their expertise and experience is unnecessary and that their work could just as easily be done by a more junior staff member is a terrible way to treat the hard-working, committed, highly skilled staff across our health service. This will have a terrible effect on staff morale at a time when we need to retain the allied health staff we have and attract more of them to the state. The government are whacking them with these appallingly disrespectful changes to staffing classifications.
Let’s be clear, these reclassifications are cuts – cuts because the government have prioritised a stadium over health and cuts because they’re ripping $700 million out of health. Reclassification of allied health positions is a downgrading of jobs that will lead to a downgrading of health services that will impact Tasmanians.
The government needs to stop these plans, value allied health staff and maintain their positions at current levels. This downgrading of service is absolutely not okay.
