Northern Beaches Hospital using agency nurses to bolster numbers, as staff say they’re overworked
Medical staff at the new Northern Beaches Hospital say they’re exhausted because they’re continually being asked to do overtime, with claims that some days more than 100 agency nurses are being brought in to fill gaps.
Manly
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Northern Beaches Hospital is so short-staffed it is employing more than 100 agency staff a day to cover shifts, insiders claim.
Staff — who have spoken to the Manly Daily on condition of anonymity — said some wards sometimes have more agency nurses working than hospital employees.
Healthscope, the private company running the new Frenchs Forest hospital, did not address specific questions from the Manly Daily on the exact number of agency staff being used compared with permanent staff or current vacancy figures.
It comes as staff say they are increasingly exhausted due to the amount of overtime they are doing.
“They are using over 100 agency staff a day,” a senior staffer claimed.
“A lot of the wards have more agency staff than our own staff and the result of that is we don’t get the consistency.
“They also vary in their ability and their accountability.”
The staffer said she was regularly doing 10 to 12 hour days and often being asked to do six day weeks.
“People are tired, they have had enough,” she said.
“A lot of staff still don’t have time for meal breaks.”
A second nurse from another department said staff were constantly having to train new agency casuals.
Currently the hospital is advertising more than 40 different types of jobs, including a six month contract for a talent recruiter ready to start immediately.
The advert calls for “an experienced recruitment professional … able to make an impact quickly and be able to partner with senior leaders to recruit a broad range of positions”.
The job was advertised on November 27 and is still on the website.
Many adverts are looking to fill multiple positions including full-time, part-time and casual nurses in critical care, emergency, and the special care nursery, as well as midwives.
The new hospital had a horror start after opening on October 30 with staff and stock shortages and a series of senior resignations.
A spokesman for Healthscope said: “The staff mix at NBH depends on a number of factors, including holiday periods and sickness.
“All major hospitals use agency staff from time to time.
“Overtime is sometimes required to cover short notice leave including sick leave. Many of our staff also volunteer and seek out extra hours within the hospital.”
He added that Healthscope was recruiting more permanent staff to the northern beaches every week.
“There is no target for a particular level of agency or casual staff within the hospital,” the spokesman said.
“It is our absolute goal to fully staff the hospital with permanent full-time staff.”