In the already Covid-stretched hospitals of northern New South Wales, health workers are struggling with another growing pressure caused by the pandemic.
House prices have soared in Byron Bay and surrounding areas since Covid lockdowns and work-from-home inspired many to flee the city for a sea or tree change.
And while the impacts on buyers or renters in the area have been well documented, hospital workers say it’s having far-reaching effects on the community’s health.
The consequences of the housing crush are being felt at hospitals such as Ballina, where nurse and New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) representative Suzie Melchior works.
“That’s not just staff struggling to get permanent housing, but we’ve seen people who are almost itinerant,” she said.
“We’re not used to people living out of their vehicles, their cars. That seems to be a new thing.”
Every additional stressor is being felt due to the surge in demand brought on by Covid, and already prevalent GP shortages.
“They don’t have a GP so they’re coming to us for their basic healthcare needs,” Melchior said.
“They know they’re not meant to be accessing emergency departments to get their blood pressure medication or their gout medication but they don’t have the option.”
Long-term renter and mother of four Jenny – not her real name – is at breaking point after two years of housing instability, and has seen her health slide as a result.
“There have been moments where I ask, ‘What’s the point in going on?’,” she said. “My stress levels are through the roof. A human right to safety and shelter – there’s nothing remotely close to that now.”
Jenny has a month left at her short-term rental in Alstonville and after months of searching still can’t find a secure and affordable next step.
She is considering buying a caravan or pitching a tent.
“I wouldn’t have considered that in the past but what are our options? What else can we do?” she said.
Melchior said many patients were presenting without Medicare cards because they didn’t have an address for them to be posted to, taking up extra admin time that overworked staff didn’t have.
“There’s a ripple effect,” she said.
“It is small in the scheme of things but if you multiply that across how many other people are having similar issues … it’s big.”
Another local nurse – who wished to remain anonymous – said she was also seeing more patients without a fixed address.
“Even in the maternity unit we see it – new mums living in caravan parks because they can’t find housing,” she told the Guardian.
‘A pressing need for urgent action’
The median house price in the Byron shire has more than doubled over the past five years, overtaking Sydney to hit $1.7m, according to the latest data from Domain.
Prices in Lismore, Tweed and Ballina have all also risen more than 30% – outpacing the state’s capital, bringing with it a sizeable increase in levels of housing stress.
This week, Byron Shire council sought to address the issue with a proposal, unanimously supported, to lobby the NSW government to “recycle” stamp duty and land taxes collected in the area into local social housing for the most vulnerable.
“There’s a clear connection between house price inflation and homelessness,” said councillor Mark Swivel, who proposed the motion.
“There’s a pressing need for urgent action.”
Speaking in support, councillor Sarah Ndiaye said the housing boom was making the local community increasingly vulnerable, while the wealth is poured into state coffers.
“Things like Airbnb and short-term holiday homes and the high-turnover properties... it’s all tax generated for the state,” she said.
“The state government is getting all the carrots and local councils are getting sticks.”
Tenants’ Union NSW head, Leo Patterson Ross, said he had noticed a jump in the number of renters in the area asking for advice.
Many people had reported being served “no grounds” evictions before the properties were relisted for more money, pricing them out of a community they once called home.
“We’ve seen double-digit rent increases year-on-year for a couple of years in some areas,” Patterson Ross said.
“It has this really ongoing widespread effect and what it boils down to is that there’s just not enough homes that are actually affordable to the communities that need them.”
Groups such as Homelessness NSW have been calling on the government to build 50,000 social housing units across the state over the next 10 years to deal with the crisis.
“Homeless services across the state are telling us they are seeing people fronting up needing support, having never been homeless before,” the organisation’s chief executive, Katherine McKernan, said.
“If you’re in unstable housing, you’re more worried about where you’re going to sleep in a week’s time than going to the doctor and getting yourself taken care of.”
Doctors will always help homeless patients, but some factors make it harder, according to the AMA NSW president, Dr Danielle McMullen.
“If you’re struggling with homelessness, you might also be struggling with finances, to be able to put food on the table, and then buying medications is another cost,” she said.
“Visiting a doctor can often have an out-of-pocket cost and those are barriers to care.
“Depending on the illness, housing stability is just important for our physical and mental health.”
