Central Coast nurses and midwives working at Gosford and Wyong Hospitals held an own time rally today to escalate their concerns around widespread understaffing this winter.
Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) have raised the alarm after Gosford Hospital experienced a ‘code yellow’ emergency last month when patient demand exceeded the hospital’s resources.
NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said an influx of patients had prompted Central Coast Local Health District to open more than 50 winter surge beds at both Gosford and Wyong Hospitals to meet the demand, but staffing challenges meant they were often under resourced.
“Our members have described incidents of severe short staffing on the cardiac and neurology wards at both Gosford and Wyong hospitals, as well as in the oncology ward at Gosford,” said Ms Candish.
“These are some of the most critically unwell patients seeking specialised treatment in their local facility and they deserve safe, quality care.
“Patients are being treated in corridors at Gosford Hospital, which is a telling sign that demand for acute care is not being adequately managed by the Local Health District.
“We are also aware the Local Health District has been using casual nurses to cover their winter surge areas, while relying on regular nursing staff to pick up overtime shifts for shortages on the other wards.
“This is not sustainable, and it puts additional pressure on the nursing staff to try and continue plugging gaps in the rosters by accepting those double shifts or overtime.”
NSWNMA Wyong Hospital Branch President, Kelly Falconer, said nurses had continued to raise concerns about the chronic staffing shortages, but the issues remained.
“We have been escalating these staffing concerns for months now. Nurses and midwives up and down the Coast are extremely disappointed by the lack of action being taken to address the staffing shortages,” said Ms Falconer.
“Surged beds have now become the norm and there has been no additional injection of health funding into this region, despite the growing population and increased admission.
“While the nursing staff are working themselves ragged trying to care for all the patients, their pleas for help are going unaddressed.
“It’s no wonder more and more staff are reducing their hours to manage the fatigue and work overload, while others are stepping away from nursing altogether. Something has got to give.
“We are asking the local community to support us and demand better from the Local Health District to ensure our hospitals deliver safe care and adequate staffing on every shift.”
