Background
"I go out on the 'XPT' south to Albury, day after tomorrow, just after 12 noon.
See you on Thursday, April 4th,
Luv 'Large*."
Ch 10c (Word
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Great changes, and some new happenings just around the corner. Some of the things I had hoped, one day might be a reality for me, about to unfold. I had been keen to get a job closer to home -- back in the Ryde area.
In November 1984, aged 33, I commenced in the Post Audit Area of the Out Patients' Department, at Concord Hospital, as a Clerical Assistant Grade 2. I was a lot older than most others I worked with. Some had been career Public Servants, never having other jobs as I had since I commenced full-time employment aged almost 17, in 1968. At that time the hospital was administered by the Commonwealth Government and mostly a War Veteran's Hospital. I found out a little while after I was confirmed in the position why I had so easily gained the job.
There were many "Clerical Assistant Grade 1's" on "higher duties" at the Hospital. Some had been on Higher Duties for ages and never bothered to actually apply to promote to the higher grade. Some were even on "Higher Duties" as much as two grades above their gazetted positions. The grade of Clerical Assistant was the lowest of grades of a clerk, at the time of writing. My new Clerical Assistant duties included processing of files for the Out - Patient Clinics. I would deliver files according to a schedule of patient appointments in particular clinics.
After working in the Post Audit area, for a while I was upgraded and started in more of an actual Auditing position. My higher grade function was to check for tests that needed to be done for patients before their Admission to the hospital. I am pleased to say I only made one error or rather missed an error already made in the clinics by the nurses, which caused a bit of inconvenience to a patient.
Sometime after this, I got the opportunity to move down to the Staff Development area of the Hospital. This was my favourite position working with some really nice people, except for one or two. One of these was a bit of a trouble-maker; the other one taught me a new concept - "personal spaces" and so on.
I never really violated any of her personal spaces, and it was interesting to note that some of the words of my song you will see a bit later - applied to this woman..in the "Not what you know, but who you know" department. Stick around for my song.
I had been successful in starting a group for hearing impaired staff at the Tax Office, so I thought about doing the same at Concord Hospital (as mentioned previously, then part of Department of Veterans' Affairs).
I inquired about the possibility, with someone from Personnel in Branch Office, in Sydney and they told me there was some talk of getting a similar group up and running, there. I then ran a notice in the "Hospital Staff News", and was rewarded with ONE reply!
With the help of my single respondent, we began to contact various persons, known to be hearing impaired staff in the hospital. My helper had been at the hospital for quite some time and had an idea of those people who could be interested in attending, if approached, personally.
This resulted in a few more staff members coming along, and this group of people began to join up with other staff in Branch Office, in the City; to begin what was later to be called H I V E (ie...Hearing Impaired Veterans' affairs Employees' ) Group.
Due to a change in my classification from Clerical Assistant to Clerical Administrative, I had to transfer to Branch Office of Veteran's Affairs in the city.
Author Notes
At the time of writing Clerical Grades were Clerical Assistant Grades 1 to approximately 4. Clerical Administrative Grade 1 and up. These all changed later. Post Audit area in Outpatients was responsible for checking Patient files before admissions to hospital of all patients, to make sure all tests required prior to their admission were carried out. Initially, I was just the file "deliverer and picker-upper"...later to be promoted to examining files, then even later transferred to the Staff Development area.Picture is a combo of Repatriation General Hospital Concord NSW.
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