Unrelenting workloads and demand on nurses and midwives over recent years has been a burden no healthcare practitioner should have to shoulder.
Forcing clinicians to decide between patients receiving timely care and those who must wait has resulted in widespread psychological stress and burnout.
Share your experiences of what it is like working in the NSW public health system.
- What is it like working on a shift right now? Are you working multiple shifts understaffed? Frustrated and fatigued?
- Are you a patient with a story to share?
- The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t cause the staffing crisis, government neglect did.
- For years, nurses and midwives have campaigned for serious staffing improvements to our public health system. We want you to hear your firsthand experiences.
Patients dying in emergency because of severe bed blocks at westmead.
Post operative patients remaining in theatre recovery OVERNIGHT and through to the next day due to bed blocks at westmead.
Theatre staff and Cath lab staff having to stay back past shift end time because there is nowhere to place Patients post op due to bed block and some patients have been kept in theatre/ Cath lab until a recovery bed/ward becomes available which can be any amount of time from 30 minutes to 6 hours. This means that theatre and Cath lab nurses cannot leave at the end of their shift, they must remain with the patient.
I recently completed 10 years working for a busy public metro Emergency Department. The recognition I got was an email which was an auto send. I asked for long service leave well in advance but this was rejected within 2 hours of putting the application in. Being tired and employable, I simply quit. My cousin is high up in the army and relates that they get breaks after periods of deployment. I wasn’t conscripted nor imprisoned and could see no reason for tolerating poor conditions and pay. In leaving, I earn $40k more and no longer work nights and weekends. The only way I’ll be back is with a 25% pay rise. Even 7% is a mockery. I tell students now something that took me years to learn – systemic issues are not your personal responsibility (Brad Hazzard – *cough*). Look after yourself first because they definitely won’t look after you later.
During Amber Pathway it is short staffing so the Occupational therapy and social worker work as part of the number but of course they can not give medication so the nurses give the medication to their patients.
I have been working in public hospital system since 1995. I used to really enjoy my work. Patients are taken by their stress out on staff as they can’t get support and help they require. I have just returned to work from leave due to nervous breakdown on workers comp. I was physically assaulted by a patient due to staff shortage Not enough staff t safely care for aggressive patient Also since I have returned I have been verbally abused by nurse educator for situation out if my control. I was working on a ward of 9 patients that could only be staffed by 2 nurses. Myself and an RN. Admin decided all patients needed to be transferred to other wards before end of shift. Under instructions of RN I commend transferring patients to other wards. The educator abused me for leaving ward with only one staff member left on ward. I was told if anything went wrong my registration would be in question. What can I do if hospital can’t supply extra staff member????
My first shift as an aged care worker as an 18-year-old nursing student involved stopping a dementia resident from strangling another resident. I was alone. There were two other carers who were both dealing with other patients. I did not know what to do. The lack of training and lack of staffing meant that I was alone with no help. I stood there holding the resident’s hands while no one came to help. The resident started to become aggressive with me. It is unacceptable. The lack of ratios for the dementia floor is disgusting. If I was not there or helping another resident what would’ve happened?
Now a few weeks later I have seen understaffed, burnt out and underpaid nurses which are forcing me to reconsider if this is the future I want for myself. We need higher nurse-to-patient ratios, we need better pay and we need more nurses. Something has to change otherwise people will keep dying and nurses will keep leaving.
A switch has gone off! Have always enjoyed my nursing career its been 30 years now.
Currently community health.
The workloads ,expectations regarding face to face and completing clinical notes has taken its toll.
The toxic workplace bullying no care factor from managment disrespect and lack of concern for staff saftey.
I have had enough
Im 59 and will be retiring early. Nursing is bad for my health
I actually discourage young ones like my daughter to not consider nursing as a career choice
I have to put myself first now.