Public pressure and lobbying by NSWNMA members has won a commitment to boost staffing at Westmead Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The NSW Health Ministry has agreed to fund a significant increase to nursing staff at Westmead Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Western Sydney Local Health District.

This follows a rally by NSWNMA members outside the hospital which drew public attention to the NICU’s desperate shortage of nurses.

Westmead NICU is the only Level 6 referral unit in metropolitan Sydney apart from the Royal Hospital for Women NICU in Randwick.

During their own-time rally outside the hospital, Westmead NICU nurses called on Health Minister Ryan Park to urgently intervene with increased funding to employ more nurses.

NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, told the media that members had been raising the staffing issue with hospital management and Western Sydney Local Health District on a weekly basis “but their repeated calls for help have gone unanswered.”

“The NICU is funded for 44 beds, but it regularly must open up to 50 beds or more due to the demand from surrounding Western Sydney hospitals, or the babies requiring cardiac care from the Children’s Hospital next door,” Michael said.

“The unit is currently staffed for 80 per cent capacity but has been surging to 130-140 per cent thanks to a sharp increase in acuity of babies needing critical care.”

Earlier, a delegation of Westmead NICU nurses appealed to western Sydney MPs for help at meeting in parliament house.

The MPs were Edmond Atalla (Mount Druitt), Stephen Bali (Blacktown), Lynda Voltz (Auburn), and Dr Michael Holland as Parliamentary Secretary for Health.

MP for Parramatta, Donna Davis, was invited but did not attend.

Demand has increased

NSWNMA member Jessica Charlston said the delegation of members were very disappointed in the MPs’ response to nurses’ pleas for more funding.

“Westmead is a major referral hospital and the NICU staff shortage is an issue for the entire Western Sydney LHD,” she said.

“We look after babies from all over the district including Blacktown and Auburn hospitals, and those from outside the district needing the specialist services of
Westmead Hospital.

“We suggested to the MPs that the government provide additional funding to allow Blacktown Hospital to open up and staff spare bed spaces.

“That would allow us to back-transfer babies to Blacktown and for Blacktown to look after more of their own babies instead of sending them to us.

“The MPs basically said there is no more money and we will have to make do with our current funding.”

Speaking before the Ministry’s commitment to fund more nurse positions, Jessica said the staff shortage was the worst she had experienced since she started at the NICU as a casual in 2008.

“The population of western Sydney has increased a lot since the current NICU was opened in June 2007.

“We are getting more and more babies and more of those are needing 1:1 care, yet our nursing numbers have stayed the same.

“Staff are working under extreme pressure, the mood of the unit has deteriorated and people are no longer enjoying the work.

“We often have to put  two or three babies in one bed spot, which has oxygen and other equipment designed for one baby.

“We even have to put two babies in the resuscitation room, which is a converted cupboard where we used to store our resuscitation equipment.

“It was never designed for ongoing care for babies. It gets very crowded and has no windows.

“When you have two babies in incubators with the monitors and other equipment you need, plus the clinical staff, there isn’t even room for parents at the bedside.”