Nurses and midwives have delivered a scathing rebuke to state Member for Wagga Wagga, Daryl Maguire, over comments he made following a tour of Wagga Wagga Base Hospital.

Last week, members of the local NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Wagga Wagga Branch raised genuine understaffing, workload and skill mix concerns across multiple wards and units at the hospital.

General Secretary of the NSWNMA, Brett Holmes, said nurses and midwives had taken umbrage with the local MP’s comments and agreed they were typical of someone out of touch with their community.

“Wagga Wagga nurses and midwives have been calling for improved nurse-to-patient ratios for the past seven years to no avail, thanks to the current state government,” Mr Holmes said.

“Mr Maguire’s comments last Friday suggest he too has had his head in the sand and is oblivious to the actual staffing issues occurring locally.

“Hospital management has since conceded there are issues present at the hospital, including the overuse of unfunded surge beds, which has had flow-on implications for nursing staff.

“We would suggest Mr Maguire allocates some time to meet with the local nurses and midwives Branch to understand the issues comprehensively, rather than shooting off disingenuous comments in the media.”

Members of the NSWNMA’s Wagga Wagga Base Hospital Branch said they were proud to advocate on behalf of local patients to secure the safest care possible and would continue to campaign for improved nurse-to-patient ratios at the hospital.

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