The National Tertiary Education Union WA Division has referred Murdoch University Vet Hospital to WorkSafe over extreme health and safety concerns for staff and animals.
- Staff contemplating self harm due to extreme stress
- Staff being forced to deal with dangerous animals alone due to a lack of staff
- Staff being unable to take breaks
- Staff reporting motor vehicle incidents from a lack of sleep
- Animal patients being left unsupervised on weekends
The NTEU is also concerned over an absence of suitable hospital processes and procedures to deal with work overload and the absence of a dedicated and/or elected Work Health and Safety Represented for the Vet Hospital.
NTEU WA Division Secretary Catherine Moore said members believe the hospital would fail an accreditation audit based on its current state.
“We have requested the intervention of WorkSafe because the situation is beyond untenable,” Dr Moore said.
“Our members are at their wits’ end and desperately need more staff on deck. The hospital has been operating while being down at least two-and-a-half full-time equivalent staff over the past few years.
“The result of this cannot be overstated. Members are experiencing extreme stress, thoughts of self-harm and even crashing their cars because they are so exhausted.
“On top of this, they are being asked to work with dangerous animals without help and the animals themselves are left inadequately supervised. This is not conducive to optimal outcomes for patients or their owners.
“It is a shocking situation and needs to be rectified immediately.
“We have engaged with University management about our concerns on a number of occasions but they have failed to adequately address them. We’re now calling on WorkSafe to force them to act.”
