August 19, 2022

Workplace News

Desperate nurse managers vote to strike in Western NSW

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With grave fears for patient safety, senior nurse managers across several health facilities in Western NSW took the unprecedented step of stop work action for two hours today, sounding an alarm about the dire state of rural and regional health.

Unable to fill rising nurse vacancies and critical gaps in current rosters, members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Nurse Managers branch in Western NSW Local Health District (WNSW LHD) met last Friday and voted to walk out from 9am to 11am on 21 December.

NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said the levels of desperation and despair expressed by the Health Service Managers (HSM) and senior nursing staff was profound, and warranted urgent action by the NSW government.

“We’ve got senior nurse managers in Bourke, Cobar, Lightning Ridge, Nyngan, Warren, Tottenham, Trundle and Tullamore Multi-Purpose Services (MPS) all struggling right now to fill holes in nursing rosters. That’s also being compounded by growing nurse vacancies WNSW LHD hasn’t recruited to,” said Mr Holmes.

“The situation has become so dire, senior nurse managers are resorting to strike for two hours and seek a meeting with the Premier, Deputy Premier and Health Minister to escalate their concerns.

“These HSM and senior nurse managers have very real fears that patients’ lives are at risk and their own professional registrations are being put in jeopardy, given the volume of unfilled shifts.

“We’re aware Lightning Ridge MPS has over 140 vacant nursing shifts over the coming month. Nyngan and Warren MPSs have up to 90 unfilled shifts in their rosters, while Bourke MPS has over 50. Trundle and Tottenham MPSs have 30 or more nursing shifts vacant.

“Acting in the interests of their local communities, the HSMs and senior nurse managers have told us they have no other option than to take the industrial action.

“For too long, this government has chosen to ignore the growing staffing issues in small community hospitals and MPSs, which has led to the significant crisis we’re now facing.

“We wrote to the government last month outlining the dire staffing situation in rural and remote NSW and to date we have not had a response. The circumstances are devastating for the nursing workforce, which is also grappling with pandemic fatigue.”

The NSWNMA reiterated calls for the NSW government to introduce statewide nurse-to-patient ratios on every shift, including a minimum of at least three nurses in every rural and remote facility, two of whom must be registered nurses with first-line emergency care qualifications.

Members from the following facilities participated in industrial action: Blayney MPS, Bourke MPS, Cobar Health Service, Lachlan Health Service (Parkes), Lightning Ridge MPS, Molong MPS, Nyngan Health Service, Peak Hill MPS, Trangie MPS, Tottenham MPS, Trundle MPS, Tullamore MPS and Warren MPS.

ED nurses ‘stretched beyond limits’ in John Hunter Hospital

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Excessive overtime and unsafe staffing inside John Hunter Hospital’s emergency department (ED) has prompted grave concerns for patient safety as the busy summer holiday period begins.

Today, NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members and supporters gathered outside the hospital to raise community awareness of the staffing issues, after Hunter New England Local Health District (HNE LHD) was unwilling to address the concerns urgently.

NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said an open letter signed by 500 ED clinicians and supporting services was submitted to the Chief Executive in July, yet many issues continued to plague the ED.

“Our members outlined the need for safer working conditions and identified eight reasonable staffing requirements to significantly improve patient outcomes in the ED,” said Ms Candish.

“Rather than seriously consider these improvements the concerns have been rebuffed yet again, leaving an already fatigued nursing workforce to feel unsupported and rejected.”

NSWNMA John Hunter and John Hunter Children’s Hospital Branch delegate and ED nurse, Kieran Patterson, said after responding tirelessly to the pandemic to keep the community safe, ED nurses were still being stretched beyond their limits and were fed up.

“We’ve had nurses working shifts of up to 18 hours in the ED, while others have been required to work significant overtime to cover regular sick leave and rostering shortfalls,” said Ms Patterson.

“In one case, a registered nurse worked 11 days straight, including 12-hour shifts. The amount of overtime and unsafe staffing has prompted many senior staff to find other employment. Our clinicians are some of the hardest working in the state, but we are burnt out and tired.”

Branch steward and ED nurse, Keely Parkes, said with significant numbers of presentations, patients were often forced to wait for treatment in corridors or the emergency entrance.

“This is obviously unsafe for our patients and their families. We believe the upcoming closure and scaling back of the GP Access After Hours service will further increase presentations to our ED, making the conditions even worse,” said Ms Parkes.

“We recently learned the hospital’s dedicated stroke nurses who respond to critically unwell patients will move to a research role. This, alongside reduced staffing in the resuscitation bays and ambulance bays, will put further pressures on an already stretched department.”

NSWNMA members will continue to seek further discussions with HNE LHD and are calling on the NSW government to introduce nurse-to-patient ratios on every shift, including a ratio of 1:3 in ED.

Poor staffing prompts rally at Gosford Hospital 

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Central Coast nurses and midwives gathered outside Gosford Hospital to highlight concerns with unreasonable workloads and ongoing delays to resolve dangerous staffing levels.

Despite repeatedly raising issues with the Local Health District, members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) fear patient safety is being compromised as fatigued nurses and midwives regularly work overtime to meet chronic staffing shortfalls.

NSWNMA Gosford Hospital Branch President, Meg Pendrick, said nurses and midwives wanted to provide patients with the best care possible, but it was increasingly difficult due to the unreasonable workloads.

“For 22 months, we’ve been working to keep our community safe from COVID-19 and we are not receiving the support from management we need to continue this work,” said Ms Pendrick.

“Nurses and midwives are resigning because of the dangerous workloads and compromised patient care.”

The NSWNMA is continuing to campaign for nurse-to-patient ratios on every shift and safe staffing levels in maternity units. Mandated ratios would help to ensure staffing was adequately linked to the number of patients in a ward.

Central Coast nurses and midwives rally against ‘unprecedented’ low staffing levels

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Fed up with unreasonable workloads and management delays, Central Coast nurses and midwives will hold rallies this week to voice their frustrations and demand immediate action to resolve dangerous staffing levels at 2 hospitals.

Nurses and midwives from Wyong Hospital will took action followed by another rally at Gosford Hospital on Wednesday.

Both Gosford and Wyong Hospitals continue to suffer dangerous staffing shortfalls and routinely fail to meet the minimum number of nurses and midwives required on shift.

With each site having approximately 80 vacant nursing and midwifery positions, nurses and midwives have no choice but to regularly work overtime to cover gaps in the roster. Unplanned leave is rarely backfilled, only compounding the risks to patient safety.

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members are deeply concerned the situation will only get worse without urgent intervention.

NSWNMA Wyong Hospital Branch President, Kelly Falconer, said members are exhausted and pushed to the brink.

“Nurses and midwives at Wyong Hospital have been raising concerns about staffing shortages for months but nothing happens,” said Ms Falconer.

“Over 300 staff signed an open letter to the Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) Chief Executive seeking to resolve the crisis, but it’s been completely ignored.

“We have a high number of vacancies in our Emergency Department, a limited pool of casuals to call on and overtime has become the norm.”

NSWNMA Gosford Hospital Branch President, Meg Pendrick, said nurses and midwives are routinely being asked to go above and beyond with no staffing reprieve in sight.

“Staffing shortages at Gosford Hospital have risen to unprecedented levels and nothing is being done to fix it,” said Ms Pendrick.

“Nurses and midwives want to give patients the best care in a safe manner, but it becomes very difficult to deliver when we almost always face unreasonable workloads.

“For 22 months, we’ve been working to keep our community safe from COVID-19 and we are not receiving the support from management we need to continue this work.

“Nurses and midwives are resigning because of the dangerous workloads and compromised patient care.”

The NSWNMA’s campaign for nurse-to-patient ratios on every shift and safe staffing levels in maternity units would help to address this issue. Mandated ratios would ensure staffing was adequately linked to the number of patients in a ward, rather than just to the number of beds typically open.

Essential today, on the scrapheap tomorrow

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It will be much harder for nurses and midwives to get workers compensation for being infected with COVID-19 if the NSW Liberal/National Party government gets its way.

The Perrottet government has moved to strip nurses and midwives and other essential workers of their automatic right to workers compensation cover for COVID-19.

The government has introduced legislation to state parliament to repeal amendments to the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) introduced in May 2020.

Under these amendments, workers in health, aged care, disability, transport, hospitality, retail, education, and construction making a workers compensation claim for COVID-19 are presumed to have been infected on the job.

However, under the latest legislation they will have to prove they were infected on the job and not in the community or at the shops.

Angry nurses and midwives sent about 25,000 emails to members of parliament over one weekend in November, urging them to block the government’s planned changes.

NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, called the government’s move a disgrace.

“Workers would be forced to engage lawyers to fight their case and produce costly scientific evidence
to prove they got infected at work,” he told a media conference.

“This is increasingly difficult when vaccinated people can carry the disease without symptoms and may not get tested.

“The minimum COVID-19 recovery time is 14 days, yet the average full-time permanent worker gets 10 days’ sick leave per year.

“The most vulnerable healthcare workers are casuals who have helped keep our health system afloat throughout COVID-19. They get zero sick leave.

“If nurses are forced to go through a disputed claims process it could be months before they get an outcome.

“This is out of touch, insulting and cruel.

“We want to make sure all our members are confident they will be looked after when they go to work. And that we won’t have to have to engage the union’s lawyers to mount one hell of a fight to get a couple of weeks’ wages.”

The government says repealing the 2020 amendments will save the average small business $950 a year in insurance premiums.

But Brett said the government is “living in fantasyland” by claiming a saving of $950 will lead businesses to employ more people and increase wages.

“I call upon those small businesses that have advocated for this to think about the workers who keep the health system, the aged care system, the police and other services in operation,” he said.

‘Workers would be forced to engage lawyers to fight their case and produce costly scientific evidence to prove they got infected at work.’— Brett Holmes

Recovering nurse tells MPs: Do the right thing

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The law that automatically grants workers compensation to essential employees who get COVID-19 has been a blessing for Josh, a 25-year-old registered nurse at a busy Sydney emergency department.

Josh has worked on the frontline throughout the pandemic, caring for patients as they present to his ED.

He was twice forced to isolate for a total of four weeks, after being identified as a close contact.

Though testing negative both times, he had to spend the four weeks in hotel quarantine because his sister is an asthmatic and his mum has had collapsed lungs.

In October Josh tested positive after an exposure in the ED – despite being fully vaccinated, wearing full PPE, and adhering to strict infection control policies.

He was again required to isolate away from his family.

With the support of the NSWNMA, Josh was able to lodge a workers compensation claim and receive physiotherapy and psychological support to assist his recovery and return to work.

At a Sydney media conference, Josh urged state MPs to “do the right thing and block the government’s shameful repeal of the law”.

“All frontline staff have done an exceptionally good job in attempting to best care for and protect the people of NSW,” he said.

“Taking this support away from one of the most essential services is unjust and simply cruel.

“It will lead casual nurses and midwives to not risk working as they would be financially, physically and physiologically impacted by COVID-19, with no support.

“This will in turn lead to more patients being cared for by fewer nurses, putting even more strain on an already burnt-out workforce.”

All of the ALP and lower house independents Alex Greenwich, Joe McGirr, Greg Piper, plus Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MPs Roy Butler, Helen Dalton, Philip Donato and Greens MPs Jenny Leong, Jamie Parker and Tamara Smith voted against the government bill.

The bill will now go to an Upper House Committee with submissions due by 20 December 2021 and a hearing to be held on or about 21 January 2022.

The bill can still be defeated in the upper house.