“Unfortunately, Queensland Health’s bullying culture permeates the whole organisation, from top to bottom. There’s bullying that occurs both up and down the chain of management, and no one is truly protected."

The Townsville Bulletin report below revealed the revealed half of staff surveyed at THHS had witnessed bullying or sexual harassment in the workplace in the past year, the highest rate in the state.

NPAQ has been busy onboarding new Branch Secretaries and Delegates throughout QLD. 

We would like to introduce you to Tania Taylor, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Geoff Stevens, The Prince Charles Hospital and Bronwyn Witeri, Gladstone Hospital.  

If you wish to nominate as an NPAQ representative at your workplace, we would love to hear from you.  Email Aenghas Hopkinson-Pearson, State Secretary at hotline@npaq.com.au

Margaret Gilbert, Acting President

NPAQ recently received a letter of demand from QNMU’s lawyer regarding our advertising and our lawyers have replied making it clear that we will not be intimidated.   

Letter from QNMU Lawyers  24 November 2020 

NPAQ’s reply 27 November 2020 

A lot has happened this year, there’s no denying that. Part of what we were looking forward to this year was negotiating the EB11 to try and get better working conditions and wages for all Queensland Health Nurses. 

Last week, Queensland Health confirmed, in what we believe to be a completely horrendous way to treat frontline staff, that the EB11 negotiations have been delayed for one year.  Please see the letter attached.

Last week NPAQ’s State Secretary spoke to ABC about the importance of PPE fit testing for nurses after discovering this was not happening in some of QLD’s busiest hospitals.

As acknowledgement for nurses and midwives’ response to the pandemic, Queensland Health has announced that Christmas Day and Boxing Day public holidays will this year be treated as ‘special’ public holidays (like Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday).

NPAQ partnered with Insightfully to run an extensive membership survey between October 1 - 13.  

Healthcare workers and trained first aid responders are being urged not to delay commencing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If anyone were able to wander in off the street at the Korongee Village in Tasmania, everything would seem both familiar and strange. 

By Aenghas Hopkinson-Pearson

An investigation into the hidden histories of Aboriginal nurses and midwives is the focus of a new research project.

The project is headed by University of Southern Queensland historian Professor Odette Best, a First Nations registered nurse, who is gathering the untold stories of Aboriginal Queensland women who trained as nurses or midwives from the 1890s to 1950s.