The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation fired off a tweet about the issue, saying Burra Hospital management “decided to remove some of the sanitary napkin bins throughout the hospital in order to save $700 per year”.

“We thought this was unacceptable and we immediately escalated the issue…. The bins are now back!” the union tweeted.

Burra Hospital management decided to remove some of the sanitary napkin bins throughout the hospital in order to save $700 per year.
We thought this was unacceptable and we immediately escalated the issue to the EDON and CEO. The bins are now back! #unionpower pic.twitter.com/IlNQbr5fYQ

— Nurses/Midwives SA (@ANMFSA) August 23, 2022

But SA Health has told InDaily a contractor error was likely to blame for the removal of the bins and the matter is now being investigated.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars told InDaily the union had stepped in after learning the hospital had removed three sanitary bins from the toilets as a cost-cutting measure, leaving just one.

“Obviously we were not impressed,” Dabars told InDaily.

“It does seem rather peculiar in this day and age to be fighting for such facilities in a hospital environment no less.

“It really does beggar belief to be advocating for such basic facilities. And it’s a female-dominated workforce.”

Dabars said about 35 nurses worked at the hospital.

She said the union had escalated the issue to the hospital’s chief executive and executive director of nursing and had received a “positive” outcome.

“We understand that there has now been a significant change of approach with the reinstatement of those bins,” Dabars said.

“I would say common sense has prevailed – there is a sense of relief at the facility.

“But there’s a deeper issue here of why would it have been seen as appropriate to remove such basic facilities involving such a fundamental part of women’s lives?”

Dabars said the initial decision to remove the bins – which she had been told was to save the hospital $700 a year – was “pretty disrespectful really”.

“It just doesn’t make any sense to be removing those facilities when there’s not a huge number of them in any event – you wouldn’t have thought it was too much to ask,” she said.

“There seems to be a lack of appreciation, a lack of understanding and a lack of respect about other people’s experiences and needs which is very disappointing but we are very pleased that common sense has now prevailed.”

But the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network (YNLHN) told InDaily “there has never been any direction to remove the sanitary bins at Burra Hospital as a cost saving measure”.

“We believe their removal may have been an error on the part of the contractor, and this is being investigated,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“As soon as YNLHN was made aware the bins had been removed they were immediately replaced.”