Two long-serving remote mental health staff have been sacked by South Australian health bureaucrats, with a union saying the workers have been treated appallingly and despicably by management.
The pair had worked with at-risk children on the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands for more than a decade before they were suddenly removed in August and September last year, dismaying locals and experts.
Their removal ultimately saw no mental health work in remote communities for 14 months.
Public Service Association (PSA) state secretary Natasha Brown said in a statement the two workers' employment was terminated on November 28 this year by the Women's and Children's Hospital Network (WCHN), nearly 18 months after they were stood down.
The two staff were suspended with pay until about a month prior to their termination.
Ms Brown said her union would demand the staff be reinstated and their reputations restored.
"The treatment of our members has been despicable. The treatment of the APY Lands communities has been dismissive," Ms Brown said.
"These are two individuals whose work has been recognised with prestigious awards within the social work and mental health professions, and with an Order of Australia Medal for one of the workers.
"Most importantly, they have been an integral and trusted part of the community, and their absence has hit that community hard.
"The PSA maintains that WCHN has no reasonable grounds for terminating their employment."
In a statement, the hospital said it was unable to comment on individual employment matters.
Union says planned new care model inappropriate
The union said hospital management had failed to recognise the unique nature of remote communities in its proposed new model of care that management said was close to being finalised.
It will see a fly-in fly-out workforce replace staff based in the community, against the wishes of several elders and experts.
"WCHN management has failed to acknowledge that remote communities operate in a different way from metropolitan communities, which have access to services such as reliable internet access and communications," Ms Brown said.
"WCHN has failed to deliver much-needed mental health services to vulnerable children and young people.
"They could start by implementing the expert advice of the chief psychiatrist and return appropriate services to the APY Lands."
This week, WCHN boss Lindsey Gough told a parliamentary committee the pair had been investigated but she said she could not say anything more.
She said the community had broadly agreed on the new model of care, with the network confirming in a subsequent statement it would likely be released in the new year.
"WCHN has been working closely with the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist to ensure the Integrated Model of Care (IMOC) encompasses the recommendations (from his report) as well as incorporating community and stakeholder engagement and feedback during its development," the statement said.
