Goulburn nurses walk off job as part of statewide strike

They gathered at the Civic Centre and turned heads as they walked through the CBD to Belmore Park, chanting demands for a four to one nurse to patient ratio and a 4.75pc pay increase.

READ MORE:

NSW nurses strike for parity with Victoria, Queensland and the ACT

'Nurses are exhausted': Rallies to be held in Goulburn, Bowral

Carmen Fischer was one of them. She said she'd been a nurse for more than 40 years.

"It's more difficult now than it's ever been," she said.

"I took (extended) leave because I had to recover. I was frequently working double shifts, getting called in at short notice and giving up family time. At the end of it, you're physically and emotionally exhausted."

NSW Nurses and Midwives Goulburn branch secretary and delegate, Larissa Butler, said staff were striking because "the Perrottet government had refused to listen."

"We are here today because our health system is broken. It's like gambling daily when you present to a rural/regional health care facility..." she said.

"Our postcode - 2580 - should not define the health care that our community receives. Goulburn - you deserve more."

Branch president Natasha Middlemiss said the union had 'no other option' than to take action.

"We are not okay. We are not coping. We were not coping before COVID and now it has been much worse," she said.

"We are burnt out, exhausted from doing double shifts and from working short-staffed."

ALSO READ: Desks, benches and now beds, made by inmates

She described "over-run emergency departments" and midwives struggling to provide care to mothers and babies." Babies were not counted when determining staffing levels.

"The community deserves to know they are getting the best treatment we can provide," Ms Middlemiss said.

"We need nurse to patient ratios on every shift, not just numbers counted at midnight. We know ratios save lives (and) decrease morbidity and mortality."

The union has been calling for the patient ratios and a pay rise for several years. One nurse told The Post that despite the state government's one-off $3000 'thank you' payment, most nurses received about $800 after tax.

Others, like Sarah Pike, said nurses were experiencing "unreal workloads" in wards and specialised areas and it was not uncommon for one nurse to be caring for five or six patients. One colleague was "frequently working more than 110 hours overtime per fortnight."

"She felt that if she didn't say yes to the shifts she would be letting her co-workers and patients down," she said.

She claimed a supernumerary was left alone to on a ward during night shift, without supervision, while others had been frequently redeployed to wards with which they weren't familiar.

"Can you tell me these situations don't scream unsafe work practices to you? How is that a manageable workload and how is that fair to patients?"

ALSO READ: Classical music lovers rejoice as new festival launches after two year delay

Branch life member, Jane Cotter told the gathering she had been a nurse since 1971 and had only been out on strike five times.

"We only do this when we've had enough," she said.

"...All we want for Goulburn is the same standard of care as hospitals in Sydney and Queensland," she said.

The rally also heard from community member, Don Fischer, who said nurses' goodwill should not have to prop up the health system.

The Coalition has not committed to nurse to patient ratios. NSW Labor has also backed away from their implementation, despite a pre-election pledge. Leader, Chris Minns, said he would wanted to investigate the implications further.

His stance has upset some in Goulburn's Labor branch.

Member Bob Stephens will call on this month's branch meeting to support a motion of no confidence in the party's parliamentary leadership for not "expressing support and pledging the introduction of regional nurse ratios." He also wants to branch to back union calls for Mr Minns to introduce the ratio within "the first 100 days."

Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman seized on the party's altered stance, saying that industrial action had "escalated" following Labor's decision not to support the recommendation to mandate nurse to patient ratios and the pay increase, "despite holding the policy for two decades."

"While I will unfortunately not be in the electorate office during the time of the protest due to other commitments, I recognise our health workforce's concerns," she said in a statement.

"Our dedicated health workers have been incredible throughout this pandemic, and we will support them. In just two months, we have recruited 2,874 of the 7,600 health workers to ease pressure on COVID-fatigued health staff and fast-track elective surgery for patients.

ALSO READ: Throwing open the doors to a feast of regional theatre talent

"The recently established Regional Health Division of NSW Health will also play a key role in the government's ongoing work to improve and deliver outcomes for the people of rural and regional NSW.

"This week, the government announced a major partnership to expand urgent care services, in a move to further try and ease record demand on busy emergency departments following COVID-19.

"A formal response to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional, and remote NSW will be handed down in coming months."

Her office did not answer questions on whether the coalition would back the ratios and a pay rise for nurses.

Do you have something to say about this issue? Send a letter to the editor. Click here for the Goulburn Post

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: