Westmead nurses rally as 29-bed ward closes
Nurses from Westmead Hospital have rallied after 47 nurses were moved from the B3A ward.
Parramatta
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Hundreds of nurses rallied outside Westmead Hospital to demonstrate the closure of a 29-bed surgical ward.
Some nurses fought back tears during the rally, which has separated the 47 nurse unit from the ear, nose, throat, head and neck and plastic surgical ward known as B3A.
A B3A nurse who wanted to remain anonymous because of fear of being targeted by management said she was heartbroken over the decision.
“We were a family and they’ve torn us apart,” she said.
“We’ve been together as a unit for 10 years, and we were told it was closing last week, and now it’s done, that’s it, we weren’t consulted and we feel ripped off.”
The nurses claim that the ward had offered the potential for over-time and extra shifts, which the new wards do not, drastically cutting their salary.
“I think I’m going to lose $30,000 a year because of this.”
Westmead Hospital said it is routine practice to close beds to “match bed capacity to demand”.
“This winter, we opened additional beds to cater to a record flu season and an outbreak of gastroenteritis in the community,” a Westmead Hospital spokeswoman said.
“Both outbreaks have since eased so the hospital has responded by adjusting bed numbers, as is standard practice.”
Nurses and midwives union delegate and Westmead nurse Barbara Goodwin said the closure was a shock to the nurses who had been on the ward for years with the impact from the closure far reaching.
“The flow on from this will hurt staff all over the hospital; nurses, doctors, ward clerks. The patients are still there but now the other wards are expected to carry the weight.
“This was also done with no consultation and we didn’t have any time to discuss what the impacts of this would be.”
The 150 nurses have called on the NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard to ensure the hospital is adequately funded to stem future ward closures.
“We see this as management trying to cut costs by reducing its overall nursing numbers at Westmead,” union delegate and Westmead nurse Liwayway Besilos said.
“These nurses have to move to another ward and the other wards are going to be busier to keep up with the demand.”
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