NSW Health reject claims and demands of Nurse union after staff walk out
The Northern NSW Local Health District says a nurses strike at a North Coast hospital on Wednesday was in breach of orders by the Industrial Relations Commission.
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A staff walk out at the Tweed Hospital on Wednesday afternoon was in breach of an order made by the Industrial Relations Commission, according to NSW Health.
Nurses and midwives walked out of the Tweed Hospital demanding nurse to patient ratios, better pay, a permanent skilled pool of staff, more specialist staff including a wound care specialist and educational support staff.
Nurses walked out for three hours, but this had no impact on service or patients.
A Northern NSW Local Health District spokeswoman said this was in breach of an order made on June 2 by the Industrial Relations Commission for the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association and its member not to engage in any kind of industrial action until June 30.
The spokeswoman said the hospital did have a skilled permanent nursing pool which was at full complement, with no current vacancies.
“Patient need determines nursing staff levels,” she said.
“Different patients have different care needs. There should not be a one size fits all approach to staffing for complex medical and clinical situations.
“The current Nursing Hours per Patient Day staffing system is a flexible ratio which enables nursing staff to be redeployed where patient need is greatest.
“This ensures the busiest shifts have the most staff and local knowledge of workflows is taken into account in building the roster.”
She said nursing hours were determined by the complexity of a hospital and its patients and the professional judgment of nurses and managers is what decides staffing levels.
“This approach allows for staff to be redeployed where needed,” she said.
“The Award also provides for local consultation processes to discuss workload issues.”
She said NSW public hospitals had more nurses and midwives than any point in history with 49,889 staff employed across the state with plans to employ 5000 more over four years.
“The NSWNMA has lodged an extensive claim that seeks a new ratio model that is more rigid than the current award ratio framework adopted by NSW Health and the Association with the support of the IRC in 2010-11,” the spokeswoman said.
“Ratios do not reflect modern rostering practices.”
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association have sought a number of additional roles such as Clinical Nurse/Midwife Educators, demanded for a 4.7 per cent pay increase, free parking for nurses and midwives across the state health network and other claims.
“NSW Health has not accepted this claim and has instead offered a wage increase consistent with the Government‘s statewide public sector wages policy and which reflects the prevailing economic conditions more broadly,” the spokeswoman said.
The wage increase offered was a 1.04 per cent pay increase according to the NSWNMA following a 0.03 per cent pay increase in 2020.
Paramedics in New South Wales performed similar protests over pay across the state on Thursday by only attending life threatening cases.
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