Health workers protest against hospital privatisations in NSW

The central coast of NSW has a reputation as being a sleepy string of suburbs between Sydney and Newcastle. Perhaps Mike Baird thought so too, expecting no blowback after his state government announced the sell-off of Wyong Hospital.

If so, he was wrong. The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NMA) drew more than 2,000 locals together on 16 October to protest against privatisations in the health sector. The suburbs around Wyong are the poorest in the area, suffering from high unemployment, poverty and chronic illness.

“We live and work in a low socioeconomic area”, said Pam Illingworth, writing in the union’s magazine, Lamp. “The majority of the patients admitted to the hospital don’t have private health insurance and we are very concerned they won’t receive fair and equitable healthcare.”

Staff at Wyong are extremely concerned for their jobs – they will be redeployed only if an “equivalent position” can be found. Privatisation – especially in a region with 17 percent private health coverage – means slashing pay, shifts and skilled jobs.

“Positions like clinical nurse educators as we know them won’t exist”, said Illingworth, herself a CNE. “And there is no mandate in private facilities for nurse-to-patient ratios.”

Not just Wyong, but hospitals across the state – in Bowral, Maitland and Shellharbour – are up for grabs. Goulburn took that sorry list to five until hundreds rallied on 30 October and the state government backed off. These are the same five hospitals to which the Liberals promised $1 billion extra funding during the 2015 state election!

Hospitals are expensive, but words are cheap. That’s why the NMA’s general secretary, Brett Holmes, has argued to remain vigilant around Goulburn. “The [Baird government’s] media release left the door open for privatisation”, the Goulburn Post quoted Holmes as saying.

We know what the bastards want; the question is how to stop them. It will take health care strikes to break Baird’s business model to bits. It is encouraging to read the words of nurse delegate Ken Langridge at Gosford hospital. He told Lamp, “We are considering our industrial options to support our colleagues at Wyong”.

The alchemists of the capitalist marketplace can turn sickness into gold. But the industrial power of nurses, administrative staff, cleaning staff, technicians, case workers and doctors can turn their gold to rust.