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Nurses across the public, private and aged care sectors are spending International Nurses Day reflecting on their tireless efforts to provide quality care to patients, residents and local communities despite the current workforce challenges.
Determined to secure a brighter future for the profession, NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said the day was an opportunity to recognise the essential contribution of nurses and pay tribute to nurses who speak up for change.
“Nurses are vital for our healthcare system. Their critical thinking and expert coordination prove nurses must be involved whenever decisions are made about healthcare reform or new policies,” said Ms Candish.
“Over the last 12 months we’ve seen commitments from governments to deliver much needed changes in the aged care and public health sectors which will have an immense impact on our ability to provide the quality care patients and residents rightly deserve.
“This progress is thanks to nurses and midwives across NSW demanding better, and it highlights their vital role in advocating for improved healthcare for all.”
NSWNMA Councillor and Western Sydney critical care nurse, Wing Besilos, said nurses had marched in the streets around the globe for the past year to voice their dire working conditions.
“If we want dignified workplaces, we need to speak out. Our weapons are our voices, our weapons are ourselves,” said Ms Besilos.
NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary Michael Whaites, agreed nurses were not just leaders in healthcare, but also leaders in fighting for change.
“Our members have campaigned for evidence-based nurse-to-patient ratios for many years. They shouldered the brunt of the pandemic over three long years, and they’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to deliver patient-centred care, often to the detriment of their own health and wellbeing,” said Mr Whaites.
“This International Nurses Day is no different. Today, we’ll see nurses and midwives taking protected industrial action for two-hours at two major Sydney private hospitals as they fight to secure safe staffing ratios and a fair pay rise that recognises their cost of living pressures.
“We look forward to continuing to build an even stronger future for the professions of nursing and midwifery, and we’ll keep fighting for as long as it takes.
“If you see a nurse or midwife today, be sure to celebrate them and their contributions to our community.”
International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on May 12 to mark the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth and the contributions nurses make to healthcare.
The Association has filed a major prosecution case in the Supreme Court against the state of NSW for widespread and repeated staffing breaches of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award.
Data obtained from a Government Information Public Access (GIPA) application has uncovered systemic and ongoing non-compliance state-wide, resulting in hundreds of thousands of missed nursing care hours.
Nurses and midwives, alongside NSWNMA leadership, spoke to the media this morning outside of the NSW Supreme Court.
Stephen Mansfield, a Registered Nurse at Concord Hospital told media; “Over the last year, I can count on one hand, the amount of times I’ve been on shift as a full-time staff member and we’ve had a full complement of RNs [Registered Nurses] or ENs [Enrolled Nurses]”.
Meg Pendrick, Enrolled Nurse and NSWNMA Councillor, spoke about how patients are often missing showers and meals because nurses are spread across so many patients that they physically don’t have the time. She also explained the emotional impact that has on nurses.
“My community is not getting the care; my patients are not getting the care. They’re getting sicker, they’re not getting noticed. What does that mean for our nurses? It breaks us”.
“It’s a job we want to do, we do it for a reason – because we care about you. But there’s not enough of us.”
NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said the sheer volume of nursing care stolen from patients demonstrated how the Nursing Hours Per Patient Day staffing model is broken, and vindicated calls for a safe and enforceable ratios system to be introduced in NSW.
“This evidence shows the NSW government’s preferred staffing model is no longer fit for purpose and, despite the best efforts of nurses working short-staffed, it is not delivering a safe level of care to patients when they need it most,” said Ms Candish.
“We are talking about hundreds of thousands of nursing care hours not provided on general medical and surgical wards, meaning patients may have missed timely care, such as blood pressure checks, wound care, or showers due to inadequate or unsafe staffing.
“Delays in clinical care can lead to suboptimal patient outcomes such as increased falls risks, hospital acquired infections like pneumonia, pressure area sores, and blood clots.”
In its prosecution case, the NSWNMA will argue patients at multiple major hospitals including Royal Prince Alfred, Gosford, Wollongong, Westmead, Liverpool and Nepean, have missed out on almost 120,000 hours of nursing care due to systemic understaffing.
“The 1,484 contraventions we are filing today are just the tip of the iceberg. If anything, we have been conservative in this prosecution and have not included a large number of other hospitals that also breached the award repeatedly,” added Ms Candish.
“Our case highlights Gosford Hospital on the Central Coast as the worst offender for staffing breaches, with 777 award contraventions over a four-year period.
“A further nine metropolitan and regional hospitals did not provide adequate staff per shift on more than 700 occasions from July to October last year resulting in substandard care.”
The prosecution Statement of Claim details 1,484 contraventions across 10 principal referral hospitals (Peer Group 1A) over recent months and years. The most significant breaches, totalling 777 contraventions, occurred at Gosford Hospital between 31 December 2018 and 30 October 2022. The remaining 707 contraventions (from 1 July 2022 to 30 October 2022) include:
NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites said for many years nurses and midwives had highlighted the broken public health system was not ensuring an adequate level of nursing care to patients.
“This is the system our Premier says is working and is world class. It’s clear patients across the state, along with the nurses and midwives who care for them, deserve better,” said Mr Whaites.
“A shift by shift nurse-to-patient ratio system is the solution but the government refuses to acknowledge this.
“In the past, we have taken multiple non-compliance disputes to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, yet the non-compliance continues. Patients are missing out on basic care and staff are being worked into the ground – it has to stop.”
The Supreme Court case could result in significant financial penalties if the state is found to have contravened the various public health awards.
Join the campaign calling for safe nurse-to-patient ratios here.
New figures show a collapse in nurse and midwifery numbers at key Sydney hospitals as the State Government refuses to confirm the depth of the state’s essential worker vacancy crisis.
A snap audit by the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) shows alarming vacancy rates leading to chronic short staffing, as the policy of capping pay rises at less than half the rate of inflation starts to hit home.
The audit reveals the following shortfall:
Hospital | Positions vacant |
Nepean Hospital (ED only) | 23 full time and 42 part-time |
Blacktown Hospital | 102 full time |
Liverpool Hospital | 164 full time |
Bankstown Hospital | 108 full time |
Prince of Wales Hospital | 60 full time |
“The NSW government’s policy of deliberately suppressing the wages of nurses and midwives has created a workforce blackhole,” said NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites.
“Nurse and midwives are committed to patient care but the combination of rock bottom wages and surging housing costs is making it harder and harder to attract and retain the nurses we need. The vacancy rates reported by our members are replicated across the state.
“Combine this with the government’s refusal to implement ratios and we have a workforce in crisis.”
Unions NSW recently lodged a freedom of information request seeking information on overall vacancies for NSW Health. Astonishingly the Ministry of Health responded by claiming ‘the Ministry does not hold central vacancy data’.
Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey said the situation was beyond parody.
“How can you run a $33 billion health budget and have no line of sight over how many nurses, paramedics, allied health therapists and hospital workers you need?” Mr Morey said.
“Do they seriously not have this information or are they just trying to hide it from the public, because they know their wage suppression policy is completely toxic?”
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) has escalated calls for nurse-to-patient ratios to be introduced statewide, off the back of new data showing more patients sought emergency treatment in public hospitals towards the end of 2022 than prior to the pandemic.
According to the latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) report, over 790,300 people attended emergency departments (ED) during October to December last year, up 13,758 from the same quarter in 2019.
NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said the need was evident for a reliable and enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios system to better manage demand on the hospital system.
“The NSW government’s complete lack of minimum ED staffing is not sustainable, and interventions are needed to ensure patients are treated promptly. Having a ratio of one nurse to every three treatment spaces in our EDs would both assist patients and staff,” said Ms Candish.
“The BHI data shows almost 68,000 ED patients left without, or before, completing treatment during October to December, while one in 10 patients who were treated and admitted still spent almost 20 hours waiting in the ED over the same quarter.
“To improve these figures, urgent investment is needed in our skilled nursing workforce which has suffered widespread burnout and fatigue. NSW patients deserve better, they deserve ratios.”
NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said the pressure on EDs was apparent across major metropolitan hospitals but was also felt in regional settings.
“John Hunter Hospital continues to be one of the busiest sites in the state, while Tweed Hospital in the north had a 13.9 per cent jump in ED attendances for October to December compared to the same quarter the previous year,” said Mr Whaites.
“There was also a rise in ED patients for the quarter at Broken Hill Hospital (up 18%), Kurri Kurri (up 26.3%), Young (up 30.3%) and Moruya (up 30.3%) compared to 2021 levels. While wait times inside EDs suffered at Maitland, Blacktown and Westmead hospitals.
“We call on the Perrottet government to acknowledge its own hospital data. This shows how much nurses and midwives are battling on, juggling workloads, and feeling unsupported. Shift by shift ratios are a safe, evidence-based solution to these workforce pressures.”
In the lead up to the March state election, NSWNMA members are urging candidates from all political persuasions to support minimum and enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios, improved maternity staffing and fair pay.
Aware Super is providing tools and information for women to improve their financial situation. A few small steps now can make a big difference down the track.
Taking place to coincide with International Women’s Day, this program will run for 3 days from Tuesday 7 March to Thursday 9 March, with 15 minute sessions scheduled at times throughout each day.
Select your preferred time from those listed below to register for that session.
Part one of this series to discover how to start your financial journey. Learn how to identify your money personality type and why reviewing your own financial story can help you understand how you relate to money. This can lead to making informed financial decisions and provide a pathway to financial success.
There will be opportunities to ask questions.
When: Tuesday 7 March 2023
Times:
Women experience higher levels of stress when it comes to managing money, with more than a third saying they find it overwhelming. That’s why it’s vital for women to build their financial literacy. We’ll take you through the basics of budgeting and the impact of different types of debt. After this session you know about credit ratings, how to clear up disputed records, and why keeping your credit rating is important.
There will be opportunities to ask questions.
When: Wednesday 8 March
Times:
Did you know that women retire with around half as much super as men due to career breaks, pay differences, and career responsibilities? The final session of this series will cover the important items you can do now to help your retirement balance, including how you can boost your super and potentially save on tax.
There will be opportunities to ask questions.
When: Thursday 9 March
Times:
If you’d like to learn more about Aware Super webinars, visit aware.com.au/education for more topics.