NURSES and midwives have swapped stories of heartbreak, exhaustion and sacrifice at rallies across the Hunter as they walked off the job for the fourth time this year.
Hunter nurses took their fight for nurse-to-patient ratios, adequate staffing, and a wage that better reflects the rising cost of living to Newcastle's Civic Park on Wednesday as part of state-wide 24-hour strike action.
NURSES and midwives have swapped stories of heartbreak, exhaustion and sacrifice at the expense of their own health and wellbeing at rallies across the Hunter.
Hunter nurses walked off the job for the fourth time this year, taking their fight for ratios, adequate staffing, and a fairer wage to Newcastle's Civic Park on Wednesday as part of state-wide industrial action.
Peggy Smith - the Muswellbrook Hospital branch delegate for the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) - told the crowd services were so diminished in their area, that the hospital had lost its maternity unit.
"We have midwives who are fighting, fighting, fighting for their unit and for these mothers and babies who are now birthing in our emergency department," she said.
"That is if they're not trying to get to another area and not birthing on the side of the road. We are being told this is an incredible standard of healthcare. We are being told we're better than Queensland, better than Victoria. I can tell you now, we are not. We don't have ratios, we don't have fair pay. How can we sustain this?"
Intensive care nurse Daniel Mackay, of the NSWNMA's John Hunter Hospital branch, said burn out was high, with nurses working more overtime and double shifts to ensure patient safety while forgoing time with their own families.
"Just the other night, I did 18 hours," he said. "I was about to walk out and we had a patient who was a bit aggressive and at the last minute I had to call my wife up and say I'll have to stay to help. That's just how it is. We feel obligated to stay. The government has failed us. To be called heroes... It's all words. They are not giving us anything. They're not giving us the ratios we need to keep ourselves and our community safe, they're not giving us fair pay. It is just really hurtful."
Charlotte Ismay, president of the Hunter's NSWNMA drug and alcohol branch, said in some of their clinics, the ratio of nurses to clients could be "one to 100" on many days, placing "unreasonable stress" on nurses supporting vulnerable and stigmatised people with substance use disorders.
NSWNMA members from Cessnock Hospital said they did not have a dedicated doctor at their site, which meant nurses were given extra responsibilities outside their comfort zone. They had "compassion fatigue" and it was affecting their mental health.
"We are doing a lot by telehealth now," one member said. "But that also uses up our time and resources.
"We have to stand next to a computer screen while a doctor is interviewing a patient, which means we can't look after our other patients. We have other patients who could be deteriorating, but we're expected to have eyes in the back of our head."
This reliance on telehealth meant they were also asked to do tasks such as listen to a patient's chest or do examinations on behalf of the doctor on the telehealth call.
"Or we're asked to palpate their stomach and 'tell me what you feel'," the member said.
"A lot of GP surgeries aren't taking new patients, which means people can't get appointments, which means they are turning up to hospital for non-emergency things. But they are also turning up sicker than they would have been if they'd been able to get in to see a GP in an appropriate timeframe."
A NSW Health spokesperson said the industrial action by the NSWNMA was in defiance of orders from the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).
"NSW Health will work to mitigate any impacts on patients, however some disruption and delays are expected, particularly as 1,403 healthcare workers were in isolation as of November 23, 2022, as a result of COVID-19.
"The current 'nursing hours per patient day' ratio system was introduced in 2011 following an industrial settlement with the NSWNMA.
"This flexible ratio system considers the numbers of patients, their complexity, acuity and care needs and allows for the professional judgement of nurses and managers to adjust staffing levels to reflect the changing care needs of patients.
"Safe and effective staffing involves more than just numbers of staff, it is about making sure there is the right number of staff in the right place at the right time."
The spokesperson said that on August 17, 2022, the IRC made a new award covering nurses and midwives at NSW Health that facilitated a 3 per cent increase to wages and conditions, comprising of a 2.53 per cent wage increase and a 0.5 per cent superannuation increase.
