WA Premier slams nurse triple shifts as ‘unacceptable’ after horror 29.5-hour stint at Albany hospital

Premier Roger Cook has labelled triple shifts in State hospitals as “unacceptable” and reminded healthcare workers they “shouldn’t feel obliged” to perform them. His comments came after The West Australian revealed an agency nurse at Albany Regional Campus had worked 29.5 hours in a 40-hour period in late May. The horror stint has been slammed by Australian Nurses Federation boss Janet Reah who has called for a triple-shift ban to be legislated, saying it was a “dangerous and outrageous” practice for patients and workers. “Triple shifts are unacceptable. No one should be in a position where they feel that they should be obliged or even want to do a triple shift — It doesn’t create a safe workplace,” Mr Cook said on Friday. The incident at the under-pressure regional facility is under Worksafe investigation alongside another case, where two Fiona Stanley Hospital intensive care unit nurses pulled a 24-hour shift on May 17. WA Country Health Service apologised to the Albany agency nurse after an internal investigation, citing a miscommunication breakdown between the day and night manager as the cause. The nurse started work at 3.30pm on May 23, finishing later than expected at 11.30pm to assist with a resuscitation. She then returned to work at 9am on May 24, only taking an hour’s break at 5pm before continuing to work until she finally finished the next day at 7.30am. “The situation which has been highlighted this week was a result of miscommunication between staff,” Mr Cook said. “Albany Health Campus has now moved to ensure that that does not happen in the future.” Ms Reah has publicly called for nurses to “set the precedent by saying ‘no’ to these excessively long shifts”, as they await Government action. When asked on Friday if he supported the nurses’ union’s call for a ban, Mr Cook didn’t respond. His remarks echoed Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson in State Parliament on Thursday, who described the Albany shift as “completely unacceptable” but said it was “rare” and claimed the legislative framework was already “robust and adequate”. “Safe work practices, including workload, are already regulated by the work health and safety legislation,” she said.