Improving staffing levels in emergency departments (EDs) and rebuilding the public health system must remain key priorities for the NSW government as hospital activity continues to surge. According to the Bureau of Health Information (BHI), staff experienced the busiest ever January to March quarter, with 770,089 patients attending ED for treatment. A record high number were critically […]
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) has urged the NSW government to overhaul the current nursing and midwifery staffing system, as new figures show tens of thousands of frustrated patients have left emergency departments without receiving or completing treatment. New Bureau of Health Information (BHI) data shows 76,117 patients walked out of public hospital […]
After weeks of battling rising patient presentations and no reprieve from chronic short staffing, a group of emergency department nurses staged a walk out, in their own time, from Blacktown and Westmead hospitals this morning. Severe understaffing and a lack of support from the NSW government prompted the nursing staff to walk out at the […]
Ongoing pressure inside public hospital emergency departments (EDs) has prompted renewed calls by the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) for staffing ratios to be mandated on every shift. The NSWNMA wants the NSW government to introduce a ratio of one nurse to every three ED treatment spaces to improve patient care, backed by Bureau […]
New data shows emergency department (ED) clinicians have continued to persevere through demanding circumstances inside the state’s public hospitals, after facing one of the busiest quarters for life-threatening ‘Emergency’ (triage category 2) presentations on record. The latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) report has revealed more category 2 patients arrived at EDs, and also waited […]
An open letter has been sent to the NSW Premier and the Health Minister calling for urgent action to address what clinicians have described as ‘chronic understaffing’ and ‘access block’ inside Westmead Hospital’s emergency department (ED). Signed by over 200 emergency department nurses, registrars, senior medical officers, administration, orderlies and security guards, the open letter […]
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) has urged the NSW Government to bring forward its planned 5,000 health ‘workforce boost’, as promised at the last election, in light of the evolving COVID-19 crisis and increased pressures on emergency departments. The latest Bureau of Health Information quarterly data shows emergency departments already experienced unprecedented strain […]
Emergency department staff at Murwillumbah District Hospital are stunned and in fear for patient safety, after revelations Northern NSW Local Health District will slash rostered nursing hours, despite patient presentations at the facility continuing to rise. Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Murwillumbah Hospital branch were among those notified that at least […]
With Christmas and New Year festivities on the doorstep, members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Westmead Hospital branch have raised grave fears for safe patient care inside their hospital’s overstretched emergency department. For months, Westmead Hospital’s emergency department has struggled under crippling admission rates, compounded by a compact layout, prompting increasingly unsafe […]
Presentations to emergency departments in the state’s public hospitals hit an all-time high during the recent winter period, vindicating calls by the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) for urgent extra nursing staff to meet growing demand. According to the latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) quarterly report, emergency presentations rose across all 15 Local […]
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