Central Coast nurses campaign to end understaffing
Burnt out, exhausted, and stressed are not the words you want to hear describing nurses and midwives looking after you in hospital, but nurses say chronic understaffing is putting patient care at risk.
Central Coast
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The union representing nurses and midwives on the Central Coast has not ruled out future industrial action if staffing shortages are not addressed.
Local union organiser Nicole Mason said a severe winter flu season had added to existing problems with extra “unfunded” beds having to be opened to cope with the surge in patients, but with no extra staff.
Ms Mason said when nursing staff called in sick, they were often not replaced.
“That means nurses on the ward will have to pick up the extra workload which is stressful on them, but also raises the possibility of compromised care of patients,” Ms Mason said.
She said the demands on local hospitals were made worse by the region’s unique and complex health drivers including an ageing population, high levels of mental health issues, domestic violence and high unemployment.
“The demands are only going to grow and staff are already exhausted,” she said.
“Local nurses and midwives feel let down by the Local Health District for not adequately addressing their concerns or implementing long-term solutions to uphold patient safety.
“Our members have raised these concerns repeatedly yet the widespread issues still remain, including the opening of additional beds without additional staffing, an increased use of part-time and casual staff, as well as vacancies not being recruited.
“The nurses and midwives are experiencing fatigue and burnout, after continually working short staffed. The rising number of vacancies is a major concern because it has prompted a reliance on overtime by the nursing staff.
“This has created a challenging environment, particularly as the nursing staff try to maintain safe patient care for the community.”
The union launched an awareness campaign last week when nurses and midwives held a lunchtime rally outside Gosford Hospital.
Despite rain, 60 nurses attended the rally.
Ms Mason said it was ironic that many staff who wanted to attend could not make it because their wards were so short staffed they couldn’t leave.
She said industrial action was a possibility unless the situation improved.
“We will consider all the options available to us,” Ms Mason said.
“We don’t rule it out if that’s what it takes for nurses voices to be heard,” she said.
“We can’t just let it go.”