Health District concedes pressures at Goulburn Base Hospital

But the Southern NSW Health District says it is recruiting more resources and implementing measures to support staff.

The District was responding to NSW Nurses and Midwives Association claims that Goulburn Base Hospital was short-staffed and nurses were regularly working double shifts. The union also alleged that it tried to enlist paramedics to work in the maternity unit over the Christmas/New Year break when insufficient staff were available.

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Southern region organiser Pippa Watts said this ultimately didn't go ahead but it did at Yass Hospital. The Health District has not responded to the claims.

However a SNSWLHD spokesperson said patient and staff safety was "at the forefront" of every decision and management was meeting weekly with the Association to discuss the challenges and ways to support personnel.

"However, there is no doubt that we are under enormous pressure and that is why the District has implemented other measures to strengthen and support our workforce," she said.

These included forward planning with clinicians to ensure hospitals had capacity to care for COVID-19 patients and meet workforce surges, recruiting COVID response workers, including nurses who had recently retired to return to the health system, and employing undergraduate doctors and nurses as assistants.

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Staff from throughout the District were also being redeployed where needed and others were being engaged from the statewide 'talent pool' to tackle the Omicron challenges. Recruitment of nurses and midwives from agencies and overseas was also underway.

"We thank our workforce for their tireless efforts caring for patients over the pandemic. Unrelated to COVID-19, Goulburn Base Hospital (GBH) is recruiting to fill four full time midwife roles including a Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) position," the spokesperson said.

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"An acting NUM has been appointed to cover the Unit until the role is filled permanently. Some GBH staff have been furloughed as cases or close contacts of COVID-19 in recent weeks. Rosters were covered and service delivery was maintained despite the challenges of isolation due to the Omicron variant."

However most furloughed staff had now finished their isolation period.

A total 21 graduate nurses out of 73 throughout the district had joined Goulburn Base Hospital this month.

The spokesperson said a decision to suspend non-urgent elective surgery requiring an overnight stay had not been taken lightly but it was done to support hospital capacity during the Omicron outbreak. This will remain in place "for as long as necessary" but all emergency and urgent surgery is continuing "as normal."

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She said caring for the workforce during this time was "paramount." A workplace wellbeing program had been developed to promote "psychological safety in teams." Peer support and self-care resources were provided and mental health and wellbeing support programs were also available for staff who preferred to access help outside of the workplace.

"It is a challenging time for our health system, and we continue to work with clinicians to ensure staff are able to provide the high-quality care that patients expect," the spokesperson said.

The Health District says this year's $469 million budget is $18m more than in 2020/21.

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