Nurses to walk out despite last-minute government peace offer

Royal Hobart Hospital Nurses have revealed they are at breaking point in a serious of emotional pleas ahead of their strike on Wednesday. READ THEIR POWERFUL MESSAGES>>>

STRIKE action by nurses at the Royal Hobart Hospital will go ahead on Wednesday despite a last-minute bid by the government to head it off.

Nurses at the state’s biggest hospital will walk off the job amid a campaign by Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation to highlight how the pressure of the job and constant shortstaffing has left many near breaking point.

Exhausted health workers say the state’s hospital system is in crisis and they are not getting the support they need.

Premier and Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff on Tuesday offered to start talks over a new pay and conditions deal early — but only if nurses don’t walk off the job and stop all industrial action.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff. Picture Chris Kidd

“Our government is prepared to commence negotiations now for a new agreement as a commitment to work through, in good faith, the issues the ANMF have been raising, and to demonstrate that we are taking these issues seriously,” he said.

“This proposal is contingent on the ANMF ceasing its current industrial dispute application with the Tasmanian Industrial Commission and industrial actions currently in place or proposed.”

ANMF Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd said the union’s executive had considered — and rejected — the government's offer.

“Our members’ view is that we need to the government actually needs to act on addressing members’ workload concerns now and putting in additional resources to fix that and actually comply with the existing enterprise agreement,” she said.

Nurses will walk off the job at 1.30pm on Wednesday.

As part of their campaign the ANMF has collated letters to the premier from nurses.

What the nurses have said

“I hate to say it but I would dread having a loved one or myself come to this hospital because depending on the day and the staffing, they may not get the care they should be getting because there’s not enough staff.”

Registered Nurse – Southern Tasmania.

“We are stretched beyond our means. We are tired … EXHAUSTED. We are working many hours, often without a break … we all keep going because we care, because we made an oath to the patients we care for. Show some compassion and start caring for us. The burnout is massive.”

Registered Nurse – Southern Tasmania.

“I’ve never seen the hospital so bad, it’s messy, the patients are not getting the care they deserve and the moral and ethical distress we face as staff is the highest it has ever been.”

Registered Nurse — Southern Tasmania.

“I love being a nurse however the state of our health care system has left me questioning my career choice. The knowledge that patients are not receiving the care that they deserve due to under resourcing and unsafe staffing situations weighs heavily on my shoulders.”

Registered Nurse – Northern Tasmania

Tasmanian nurses aren’t happy. Picture: Burst

“I have seen so much pain and suffering from acutely unwell patients, and patients left without a bed for 8+ hours because staff and the department cannot cope with the pressures. I am anxious before I go to work, worried about what emotional or physical trauma I may face. I feel undervalued, underpaid, and under-appreciated.”

Registered Nurse – Southern Tasmania

“I am actively seeking work elsewhere because the thought of going to work gives me anxiety, lack of sleep and stress that is just not sustainable. When I hear people, they want to go into nursing, I tell them not to, worst decision I ever made.”

Registered Nurse – North West Tasmania

“We have not had a fully staffed roster for years and cannot retain interstate graduates due to the cost of living. We are desperate and burned out. The lack of pay parity with the mainland and the cost of housing in Tasmania are issues that NEED addressing.”

Registered Midwife — Southern Tasmania

“The acuity and needs of the patients cannot be met with the current staffing levels. My heart breaks as these patients are not receiving the care that they require and are entitled to. I frequently go home from my shift in tears because I know I could do better for my patients, but the dire staffing levels make it almost impossible to provide even basic care.”
Registered Nurse — Southern Tasmania

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