Port Macquarie-Hastings Council (PMHC) is navigating a number of temporary headwinds as influenza, COVID and a pre-existing staff shortage places pressure on the timely and effective delivery of services to the community.
A new wave of COVID cases, coupled with a highly contagious flu season, has been the primary cause for sudden staff absences across the winter months – adding to existing staff workloads.
While this is not an issue unique to just Council, it is one that PMHC CEO Dr Clare Allen said she was keen to acknowledge in a bid to help the community understand the internal pressures the organisation is under.
“Now and into the weeks ahead, we may see some impacts to services as we navigate our way through a peak influenza period and the re-emergence of a number of COVID-positive cases throughout the organisation,” Dr Allen said.
“In the more immediate period over the past 48 hours, some of our field crews have also been impacted with access to our depots and outdoor site locations limited by the rain and challenging road conditions.
“All of these issues are outside of our immediate control, and we would kindly ask our community remains patient as we navigate through this difficult period.”
Dr Allen said the organisation was also currently experiencing a staff gap in key areas of the business, but recruitment underway to cover the shortfall.
“We are blessed to have an incredibly talented team of staff who contribute a diverse range of skills and experiences that benefit our community,” Dr Allen said.
“However recently we have seen colleagues and senior leaders with specialist skills – and many years of experience – depart the organisation to pursue fantastic opportunities away from local government”.
Dr Allen said Council had ambitious targets and goals to recruit extremely qualified people, with expert knowledge in a variety of fields from government and or the private sector.
“We will work hard to fill our vacancies with the right people in order to complement and build on our existing workforce of great, talented people, but in the meantime we are asking our customers and the community be patient and compassionate when dealing with our existing staff who are working under these challenging times,” she said.
