RN Ros Ost, a newly elected branch delegate at Maclean District Hospital, was working as an endorsed enrolled nurse (EEN) at Gatton Hospital in rural Queensland when she first learned the value of taking action as a union member.
Ros had joined the Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union but had not been an active member.
The catalyst was a policy change after Gatton Hospital moved under the West Moreton Health Service, which did not allow EENs to administer IV antibiotics – a task they were competent in and had previously performed under the Darling Downs Health Service.
“I made my first contact with the union hoping that it would help us nurses to change the policy,” Ros said. “I went to the union head office in Brisbane because we did not have an active branch at Gatton at that time.”
Though a relatively new EEN, Ros made the initial approach to the union because her EEN colleagues “didn’t really want to step on management toes.”
The union guided her on how to lobby the health service, which then updated its policy and permitted EENs to administer IV antibiotics.
“We were finally able to use our skills for the tasks we were qualified to perform – and we also eased the workload on RNs,” Ros said.
“That experience showed me that the union could be a powerful tool for creating change.”
Ros graduated as an RN in 2018 and moved to Maclean “for a change of scenery” a year later.
Encouraged by her union experience in Queensland, Ros volunteered to become a ward steward for the NSWNMA’s Clarence Valley branch, which covers Maclean and Grafton hospitals.
She was active in the NSWNMA’s “Value Us” campaign in 2024–25 which saw a big increase in the number of nurses taking industrial action.
“At our first rally there was only me and one other nurse from Maclean in attendance. By the third rally, our ward had to get managers from other areas to come and do ward work because so many nurses took part in industrial action.
“It was really inspiring to see so many people prepared to do their part at the rally or engage with our community at a stall in the main street of Maclean or at Grafton Shopping World.”
As a steward, Ros has repeatedly raised critical understaffing issues with management, with support and advice from her branch president, Darren Demery, and branch secretary Paula Duffy. “We managed to get patient beds capped twice (from 33 to 24, and later to 27) to align with safer staffing levels,” she said.
Faced with 60 unfilled shifts recently, she worked to arrange for an urgent Reasonable Workload Committee meeting to seek solutions.
Ros said achieving safer staffing and maintaining a round-the-clock security presence at the hospital are among her main goals as a NSWNMA delegate.
“We successfully campaigned for and achieved dedicated security guards at Grafton ED and 24-hour security for the whole hospital at Maclean – an upgrade from the previous 11pm cutoff.
“We are monitoring the deployment of guards to make sure an adequate level of security is maintained in ED.
“Staff retention will be another focus of my work. We have a lot of agency nurses at Maclean and we need to increase the number of permanent staff.”
In recognition of her work as a steward, Ros was invited to attend the NSWNMA’s 2025 Annual Conference.
“I was really impressed; I heard and met so many inspiring people and got a better sense of being part of a large and strong organisation. It reinforced my understanding that we have such a strong voice if we all stick together.”