Nurses working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Westmead Hospital have called on the NSW Health Minister to urgently intervene, after raising serious short staffing and patient safety concerns during at own-time rally in Western Sydney today.
For months, members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Westmead Hospital branch have escalated overcrowding issues, including incidents of sick babies requiring 1:1 or 1:2 nursing care being ‘double’ or ‘triple parked’ due to a lack of staff.
NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said the situation was dire, despite members highlighting the issues with hospital management and Western Sydney Local Health District on a weekly basis.
“The critical care nurses working in the NICU at Westmead Hospital are some of the most highly skilled clinicians, but they are at their wits end, after their repeated calls for help have gone unanswered,” said Mr Whaites.
“The NICU is funded for 44-beds, but it regularly must open up to 50 beds or more due to the demand from surrounding Western Sydney hospitals, or the babies requiring cardiac care from the Children’s Hospital next door.
“The unit is currently staffed for 80% capacity but has been surging to 130-140% thanks to a sharp increase in acuity of babies needing critical care. Currently, there are 21 nurses per shift, but they need a minimum of 24-26 nurses per shift to help deliver safe neonatal care.
“We’re hearing that there are insufficient neonatal intensive care beds across the state, and nurses like our members at Westmead, are bearing the brunt of underfunding in this area.”
NSWNMA President, O’Bray Smith, said Westmead Hospital’s NICU was the only Level 6 referral unit in metropolitan Sydney apart from the Royal Hospital for Women’s NICU in Randwick.
“Demand on the service has ballooned and the babies being referred are much sicker but there is simply not enough staff to provide the 1:1 care at the level that should be given to these babies and also to support their families,” said Ms Smith.
“It’s clear why the staff are leaving, cutting their hours, or switching from full-time to part-time hours because of the stress and demoralising conditions. Sick leave and reliance on overtime is out of control.
“The NICU’s layout is also a major challenge. It wasn’t designed over two decades ago with massive population growth in mind. Having to double or triple park sick babies into a cramped area that was originally a storeroom is not what the people of Western Sydney should expect in 2025.”
The NSWNMA has called for the Health Minister to immediately intervene and ensure increased funding is provided to Western Sydney Local Health District to properly staff the NICU and provide the care local families should expect in a major metropolitan hospital.
