Hornsby hospital stretched to breaking point by understaffing.
Hornsby Hospital nurses have held a rally outside the emergency department to warn the public about unsafe staffing practices throughout the hospital.
Data from just four wards revealed that 142 eight-hour shifts went unfilled over the previous 10 months.
In the aged care and rehabili-tation wards, unfilled shifts rep-resented a total of 752.2 hours below award minimum staffing levels. Understaffing below the legal minimum at Wards 3A and 3B amounted to 214.8 hours and 170.8 hours respectively.
The hospital’s NSWNMA branch secretary Michelle Rosentreter said there was a growing problem of absences not being replaced or being replaced for only part of a shift.
“The nursing hours per patient day (NHPPD) tool is supposed to be used to determine the minimum staffing level but management seems to regard the NHPPD as the maximum,” she said.
“On units such as general wards that use a varied skill mix, we increasingly see AiNs being counted in the NHPPD numbers.
“You might only find two RNs on a particular shift and the rest of the positions filled with ENs and AiNs.
“AiNs are a valued part of the workforce but they should never be counted in your nurse-to-patient numbers.
“We don’t consider that to be safe. AiNs cannot be responsible for a patient because they can only work under the direction of a RN.
“Supervising AiNs on top of their own patient load can be a heavy burden for RNs in units where they are working short.”
Michelle said understaffing posed a growing risk of a serious clinical incident.
“The public have a right to know that the hospital is stretched and our staff are almost at breaking point.
“It is not just happening in general wards it is also happening in theatres, maternity, paediatrics, mental health and so on.
“Nurses in all disciplines throughout the hospital are feeling the effects, particularly after hours and on weekends.
“We have a professional respons-ibility to advocate for improvements. We understand the LHD are trying to save money but we feel it has become unsustainable.” ■
Ratios put patient safety first
Visit our website for updates and resources for our ratios campaign. http://www.nswnma.asn.au/ratios-put-patient-safety-first/.