Nurses and midwives held lunchtime rallies in three Northern NSW towns calling for nurse-to-patient ratios and highlighting widespread issues being exposed at the rural health inquiry, which is due to hear submissions in Lismore.
NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members at Ballina, Grafton and Maclean are fed up with the NSW government’s failure to implement safe staffing.
NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said members in Northern NSW want the government to negotiate on shift-by-shift ratios, including one nurse to three patients (1:3) in emergency, paediatrics and post-natal maternity wards.
“In the past fortnight, over a thousand nurses and midwives have walked off the job, closed beds or rallied at 30 public health sites statewide, no longer prepared to accept the extreme pressures they are facing day and night,” said Mr Holmes.
“The only thing keeping our public hospitals running is the goodwill of nurses and midwives, working excessive overtime to try and ensure their patients get the care they need.
“We need ratios to ensure our hospitals are safe for everyone accessing care and the staff trying to deliver care. Victoria and Queensland have mandated nurse-to-patient ratios. It’s time for NSW to catch up.”
In addition, members of the NSWNMA Lismore Hospital branch met with Lismore MP Janelle Saffin and Shadow Health Minister Ryan Park to discuss unsafe staffing concerns and seek support for nurse-to-patient ratios.