All political parties should acknowledge the extent of the public health staffing shortage and undertake to fix it, says Westmead Hospital delegate.

Sofia Santos, a NSWNMA delegate at Westmead Hospital’s F3 Opsuite, says she and her colleagues are “100 per cent committed” to supporting industrial action over ratios and pay.

“My unit has turned out to the stoppages 100 per cent, despite the fact that we are giving up a chunk of our pay each time we go on strike,” she says.

“Personally, I have had a strong commitment to achieving our goals since the start of the campaign.”

Sofia says hospital working conditions have been “appalling” and are getting worse.

“Lack of staff was terrible before the pandemic and COVID made it worse.

“The government and community are taking a more relaxed attitude to COVID, but COVID patients keep coming to hospital and more nurses are going off work sick from COVID than ever before.”

She thinks Westmead working conditions are probably similar to many other understaffed NSW hospitals.

“A lot of nurses have left Westmead due to poor staffing and the stress that it brings.

“In periop, we are getting by better compared to the wards but we often have to miss one if not two meal breaks in order for us to finish our list.

“We do a lot of overtime; if we didn’t, we would have to cancel surgeries – and we don’t want to do that to our patients.

“Around 10 people have left my team in recent times and we’ve only hired one part-timer so far this year.

“I think it’s even more problematic on the wards, where you can have two RNs responsible for up to 28 to 30 beds, which is dangerous.”

The state government says it will recruit about 10,000 additional health sector workers over the next four years, but Sofia says it is not yet known how Westmead will benefit.

“We don’t know where recruitment will occur, or how much it will help Westmead, because every unit in every hospital is struggling with staff shortages.

“The government’s announcement is not a substitute for the ratios we are asking for – ratios would provide a guaranteed number of staff on the floor.

“I don’t think the government under-stands the extent of the staffing problem in health – they seem to think we can carry on trying to cope with all difficulties.

“Perhaps they don’t want to admit there is a problem. My fellow union members and I don’t feel they are taking us nurses and midwives seriously.”

She says all political parties should acknowledge the extent of the staffing problem and undertake to fix it.

“This is not just about nurses and midwives having difficulties at work – it’s about how we can deliver the best care to our patients.

“If a government is not looking after its healthcare workforce, it is not looking after its citizens and their communities.”