By Jacqueline Clay

ADELAIDE -- Last week, nurses refused to close down beds in ward 6B at Flinders Medical Centre. Sixteen beds were to be closed on August 9, and management is talking about closing 30 to 60 beds to cover a $5 million budget shortfall.

The accident and emergency department is already overcrowded. Up to 20 people at a time can be waiting for a bed for more than 24 hours on stretchers.

The nurses' action received a lot of community and union support. South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association doctors continued to refer patients to the ward, Miscellaneous Workers Union members continued to work as patient service assistants on the ward, and ambulance officers refused to divert patients away from the hospital.

Staff on other wards refused to accept transfers from 6B, and a picket line was established to prevent vital equipment from being taken from the ward.

On August 13, management transferred nine patients across the picket line. The line was then reinforced, but when management threatened to use the Industrial Relations Commission to have the nurses' pay cut, the Australian Nurses Federation called off the picket. The ANF's Gail Gago said that further action will be taken, but no details have been announced.

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