Health cuts were to scrap milk: poll

To save money, fresh milk by the carton was to be replaced by small long-life capsules, staff were told in an email about a proposal which raised the ire of doctors and nurses and sparked retaliatory threats of ‘‘work to rule’’.

Clinicians have joked they should ration out milk coupons instead, so that staff who like more milk in their coffee than others could trade coupons among themselves without exceeding the ‘‘maximal departmental milk allowance (MDMA)’’.

On a more serious note, they say it ‘‘reeks of a management that treats its staff with contempt and risks staff responding in the same fashion’’. 

Employees say it is the latest blow to morale following cutbacks in other areas, most recently the threat of a 75 per cent reduction to the John Hunter Hospital’s drug and alcohol treatment service, and ongoing issues with equipment availability.

‘‘A carton of milk doesn’t cost much but by taking it away the staff feel that we are second-class citizens,’’ one member of staff told the Newcastle Herald.

‘‘These are people providing  a service that is 24 hours per day, we don’t work ... from nine to five, Monday to Friday, so there are going to be times when we might need to have a bowl of cereal.

‘‘People work really hard for health and it’s just another example of the organisation saying ‘Well, we don’t value you’, which is a real shame.’’

A senior staff specialist said it revealed ‘‘a disturbing attitude towards staff’’ which promoted ‘‘very bloody-minded behaviour’’.

Another critic described it as ‘‘an excellent way to further stamp out any positive morale that might be hiding in the dark corners of the tearoom’’.

Hunter New England Health has distanced itself from the furore.

The new general manager of the Royal Newcastle Centre and John Hunter Hospital, Debbie Bradley, said that no directive had been made to stop providing milk to staff.

When pressed, a spokeswoman for Hunter New England Health said it was just an idea.

‘‘There’s no plans to do it, it was just a discussion that was looking at ways to find savings,’’ she said.

The Herald has a copy of an email to executive members of staff which says the issue was raised by Ms Bradley at a budgetary meeting.

The email, from Royal Newcastle Centre service manager Susan Waters, says it was raised ‘‘from the perspective of staff using hospital milk to put on their cereal’’.

‘‘From now on no staff are to have breakfast at work, please have this before you come on duty, if this is happening because you run out of time in the morning we can start your shift a bit later,’’ it says.

‘‘Added to this, supplies coming from the kitchen are going to be reduced to bare necessities  and because of the milk and cereal discussion, all milk will start to appear in small long-life caps, no more cartons.’’

Ms Waters has since emailed an apology to staff, saying her email and its content were ‘‘an error on my behalf’’.

‘‘I apologise if this has caused distress to any staff members at John Hunter Hospital,’’ she said.

‘‘There is no directive from Debbie Bradley, nor anybody in hospital management that fresh milk no longer be provided to staff.’’

There was still some confusion among senior staff yesterday  who said it appeared that not everyone had received Ms Waters’s apology.

Those left out of the loop may still be in limbo about what to put in their coffee come the New Year, they said, while some members of staff were already bringing their own to milk to work.