Coffs, Mid-North Coast nurses in crisis amid mass walk outs, rally

Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour nurses and midwives say morale is the worst it has ever been and inadequate staff levels are putting patients in the public health system at risk.

Port Macquarie nurses rally as part of state-wide strike on Wednesday August 28, 2024. Picture: Supplied.

Mid-North Coast and northern NSW nurses and midwives say morale is the worst it’s ever been and inadequate staff levels are putting patients in the public health system at risk.

As part of a statewide strike last week, hundreds of NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members from Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour rallied and stopped work as a result of the growing concerns.

They joined staff from 100 hospitals and health facilities across the state in walking off the job and have demanded a 15 per cent pay rise and improved working conditions.

Coffs Harbour public health nurses at their Stop Work rally on Wednesday August 28.

NSWNMA Port Macquarie Base, Hospital Branch President Mark Brennan has been a nurse for 42 years and said he has never seen nurses doing it so tough.

“Morale is at an all-time low — nurses are crying before coming to work and during their shift,” he said.

Mr Brennan also said the current low number of staff was a major risk factor for patients.

“The general public need to know they’re at risk when they come to hospital,” he said.

He said the situation was so dire that staff were resorting to invoking Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) concerns to get procedures and practices above board.

Mr Brennan said in one case on a ward, where two registered nurses (RNs) were required to administer S8 medication, there was only one nurse on and 21 patients in her care so the nurses had to invoke WHS.

“We said if it doesn’t get fixed we will be walking out under WHS as it is an unsafe ward,” he said.

NSWNMA Coffs Harbour Hospital Branch Secretary Joanne Cooper said understaffing and pay are the two root causes for public nurses’ ongoing discontent.

In nearby Coffs Harbour, Branch Secretary Joanne Cooper echoed the overall struggles nurses faced each day at work.

“Nurses are overworked with minimal staffing and to meet the cost of living, a lot of nurses are doing overtime because they just need to try and make ends meet,” she said.

“Better pay is just one of the issues the NSWNMA are calling for as the Mid-North-Coast representatives report an exodus of nurses leaving the state to get better pay in Queensland and Victoria.

Ms Cooper said staffing numbers were on a significant downturn.

“We’re trying to recruit for these vacant positions but as soon as we’re recruiting to them – we’re losing them just as fast,” she said.

She said this week alone, eight Coffs Harbour Health Campus nurses had quit to seek work in Queensland, where the pay is higher.

Port Macquarie nurses rally as part of statewide strike on Wednesday August 28, 2024.

The Mid-North Coast Local Health District (MNCLHD) could not confirm the number of lost staff but acknowledged “attracting and retaining healthcare staff in rural and regional areas is a longstanding challenge not only applicable to the Mid-North-Coast”.

“MNCLHD has welcomed several intakes of new nurse graduates this year and is recruiting more than 150 international nurses,’ a MNCLHD spokeswoman said.

“More than half of these nurses will be working at Coffs Harbour Health Campus with 32 having joined the local workforce to date,” the spokeswoman said.

But international recruitment is not the be-all and end-all, according to Mr Brennan.

He said he was aware of at least one instance of an internationally recruited doctor at Port Macquarie, who left NSW at the earliest opportunity to relocate to Queensland, knowing this was acceptable under his visa conditions.

“He told me he’s working 4 days up north and earning the same as he did full time in NSW,” he said.

Minister for Health Ryan Park addressed the NSWNMA staffing concerns.

Health Minister Ryan Park said negotiations between NSW Health and the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association are ongoing.

“We’ve increased the number of nurses by over 2,000 full time employees since taking office and have increased retention rates back to pre-covid levels,” Minister Park said.

However he could not identify the specific retention rates for the Mid North Coast.

While Mr Parks said the NSW Government had offered public sector nurses and midwives a 10.5 per cent pay increase over three years (inclusive of superannuation), the NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish maintains this is not enough to keep up with the cost of living and that nurses need a15 per cent pay increase.

“NSW nurses and midwives are the lowest paid in the country.

“If the state government wants to rebuild the nursing and midwifery workforce, and is serious about retaining its hardworking and dedicated staff, it must step up and pay nurses and midwives a wage that reflects their incredible contribution,” she said.

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