Public Health
Ratios vital for safety and job satisfaction
Unsafe workloads will persist without nurse-to-patient ratios, says Liverpool Hospital delegate.
The Perrottet government’s promise to recruit additional nurses and midwives is a step towards easing extreme staff shortages but is no substitute for nurse-to-patient ratios, says Sarah Calman, a NSWNMA delegate at Liverpool Hospital’s neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU).
“Even if the government funds all the promised additional staff, it will only be a matter of time before we run short again – unless we get enforceable ratios,” she says.
“We don’t know what new roles will be created. Will they go to where they are needed most? Will they be juniors or people with experience?” she asks.
Until recently, Sarah worked in Liverpool’s adult ICU, where she says the mix of skills sometimes meant there wasn’t anyone around you with the necessary skills to care for an intensive care patient.
“It was challenging to take breaks when there was no one able to relieve you.
“People in adult ICU are absolutely exhausted and senior staff are burnt out and leaving.
“I spoke to one nurse the other night who told me, ‘This place is just sucking the soul out of me.’
“Staffing across the board at Liverpool is abysmal. It’s very junior-heavy and the new grads often say they can’t handle the workload.
“Managers are receiving resignations every week. They are losing people faster than they are getting them.
“How are we going to attract staff when we can’t keep the ones we’ve already got?”
Sarah says a “very substantial number” of Liverpool nurses remain committed to the NSWNMA’s ratios campaign, while a few feel “extremely burnt out” and doubtful the union will achieve a breakthrough.
She believes NSW will eventually be forced to adopt ratios, in line with other states such as Queensland, Victoria and overseas.
“It’s been proven that safe staffing ratios actually save money and improve so many things, such as patient outcomes, safety and nurse job satisfaction.
“As far as I’m concerned, ratios are the only priority. I would be more than happy to miss out on a pay rise if we got ratios.
“I know that other people have different opinions, especially given the cost-of-living pressures. Of course, it would be great if we could achieve both ratios and a decent pay rise.
“But as far as job satisfaction goes, I would be a lot happier with ratios than I would be with a pay rise and no ratios.
“The fact is, our hospitals are just not safe without ratios.
“No amount of money can take away the pressure and stress of the job if you’re constantly working at unsafe staffing levels.
“It’s really scary to think about the future of nursing in this state if this trend continues.”
Sarah says Premier Dominic Perrottet visited Liverpool Hospital last year and met with managers, who told him nurses were coping despite the pandemic.
“He didn’t come on the floor to talk to us to see if we were actually coping – because we were not.
“Since then, the government has been told the real situation multiple times by the union and nurses. Obviously, we wouldn’t go on strike if we were happy in our jobs.”