No news on hospital strike impact
It is unclear how the current industrial action by healthcare workers is impacting on elective surgery at the Community Hospital, or Wonthaggi Hospital.
Victorian healthcare workers have embarked on 12 days of industrial action, which caused the cancellation of elective surgery at hospitals across the state.
It is unclear how the workplace action impacted on services at Wonthaggi Hospital and the Phillip Island Community Hospital and Urgent Care Centre.
The Health Workers Union (HWU) said the new bans would see elective surgery cancelled and one in every four hospital beds closed, with no cleaning of non-clinical areas including offices, staff rooms and cafeterias, and the training and onboarding of new staff suspended.
Bass Coast Health has now formally merged into the Bayside Health network and questions about the local impact were directed to the Victorian Hospitals' Industrial Association (VHIA).
When the Advertiser asked how many local elective surgeries would be cancelled due to the strike, a spokesperson for the VHIA said they remain "committed to concluding negotiations for a new enterprise agreement as soon as possible and continues to meet with the union to achieve this".
The VHIA didn't respond to questions about how many patients would be affected by the cancellations, or the impact on local waiting times.
They also did not confirm if any beds would be closed, or what impact the industrial action would have on the new surgery lists at the Community Hospital, or the recruitment of staff for the new facility.
HWU said the long running dispute with the government was part of a push for a new wages deal, and "urgent action to address unsustainable workloads and chronic staff shortages".
The Health Workers Union's Lead Organiser, Jake McGuinness, said escalating industrial action is the last thing workers want to be doing - especially during the summer bushfire period.
"This industrial action is an unfortunate necessity because of the Victorian Government's consistent and callous disregard for essential workers' needs.
"These bans are targeted and carefully designed to protect emergency and critical services, but they will cause widespread disruption."
Mr McGuiness emphasised the bans don't apply to emergency care, and that children and pregnant mothers are exempt from the surgery bans.
The protected action runs from 7am on Wednesday January 14, until midnight on February 1.
