Public Health
New England joins call for ratios
NSWNMA members rallied across the New England North West region in a loud call for nurse-to-patient ratios.
From regional cities Armidale and Tamworth to smaller towns such as Manilla and Moree, nurses and midwives sent a clear message that they are “tired, burnt out and demanding change,” as NBN TV News put it.
At the Tamworth rally, NBN reporter Jessica Warboys found 73-year-old nurse Kerry Hall “flying the Nurses and Midwives’ Association flag proudly.”
Warboys said Kerry had been a nurse since 1966, “but she feels she can’t leave now due to crippling staff shortages”.
Kerry told NBN: “I have been told if I resign or leave, they will not be replacing me full-time.”
Nurses also told Warboys that staff shortages were causing patients to leave Tamworth Hospital ED without treatment.