A "sea of scrubs" is expected to flow down Darby Street on Thursday morning, as Hunter nurses and midwives prepare to strike for the third time this year.
About 1000 of the Hunter's nurses and midwives are planning to march to Civic Park on September 1 as they join a state-wide 24-hour strike over pay and "dangerous" staffing conditions.
The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association's Hunter Valley organiser, Ashley Dobozy, said nurses and midwives across the region felt the current state government was "ignoring" their pleas for more support.
"Patient outcomes are getting worse," Ms Dobozy said. "Retention rates are getting much, much worse, and staff vacancies are therefore really high. So the pressure being put on individuals is causing them to feel as though they can't cope. If we don't start doing something soon, we're not going to have a public health service that can keep up with the demand that the community needs."
Ms Dobozy said the NSW public health system was surviving on "goodwill".
"Nurses and midwives care about the community, and it is really hard for them to walk away from the end of their shift if they know that the next shift is going to be short staffed," she said. "So they often accept additional shifts on top of their existing shift out of goodwill because they feel guilty. They feel guilty walking away and leaving those patients, and they feel guilty walking away from their team who are going to be working short."
COVID was "a small part" of the problem.
"Furloughed staff does add pressure, but we have so many vacancies. We've got resignations coming in every single week at most Hunter hospitals. And unfortunately, most of those resignations are senior skilled staff."
The 24-hour strike will begin at 7am on September 1, with "life-preserving services" to be maintained in all public hospitals and health services.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
