Nurses make some noise as they take staffing concerns to street
There were flags flying and megaphones blaring as nurses publicly shared their concerns over a lack of staff in local hospitals.
Nurses across the Clarence Valley took their concerns over staffing levels to the street as part of a campaign for staffing ratios in hospitals.
With flags flying, signs waving and megaphones blaring, the nurses, who attended the rally in their own time, were part of a campaign across the North Coast to coincide with the beginning of the NSW Health Regional and Rural hearings in Lismore.
Maclean Branch secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Melissa McDonough said they were trying to raise public awareness of the plight of nurses and called on the state government to acknowledge that ratios were needed in NSW hospitals for patient safety.
“We’re asking people ... if your mother was in hospital would you be happy for her to be laying in pain because there’s not enough nurses to give relief, or for them to soil themself?” she said.
“Our members are regularly doing overtime shifts - they can work up to an 18-hour day. On their days off they’re getting calls and messages for them to come into work.
“There’s just not enough staff.”
NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said members in Northern NSW want the government to negotiate on shift-by-shift ratios, including one nurse to three patients (1:3) in emergency, paediatrics and post-natal maternity wards.
“In the past fortnight, over a thousand nurses and midwives have walked off the job, closed beds or rallied at 30 public health sites statewide, no longer prepared to accept the extreme pressures they are facing day and night,” said Mr Holmes.
“The only thing keeping our public hospitals running is the goodwill of nurses and midwives, working excessive overtime to try and ensure their patients get the care they need.
“We need ratios to ensure our hospitals are safe for everyone accessing care and the staff trying to deliver care. Victoria and Queensland have mandated nurse-to-patient ratios. It’s time for NSW to catch up.”
In addition, members of the NSWNMA Lismore Hospital branch met with Lismore MP Janelle Saffin and Shadow Health Minister Ryan Park to discuss unsafe staffing concerns and seek support for nurse-to-patient ratios.
