NSWNMA members at western Sydney’s Blacktown Hospital and nearby community health services and the Belmont Hospital in the Hunter will today, 19 April, launch their local campaigns for a new Public Health System Nurses & Midwives (State) Award, which challenges the O’Farrell Government to build on the safer hospital staffing levels introduced in 2011 under an agreement between the NSWNMA and previous Labor government.
At the two launches the nurses and midwives will call for all NSW hospitals, including Blacktown and Belmont, to have the same guaranteed minimum nursing hours, in general wards, as the major city hospitals like RPA and John Hunter – that is, a minimum of six hours per patient per day or a minimum of one nurse for every four patients.
They will also be calling for the extension of guaranteed minimum nursing and midwifery levels to hospital emergency departments, high dependency units, such as intensive care and the neo-natal intensive care units, and community health services.
For emergency departments the NSWNMA wants a guaranteed minimum of one nurse per three patient treatment spaces/beds, plus an in-charge nurse and a triage nurse on each shift.
For intensive care units, including neo-natal intensive care units, there should be one nurse/midwife per patient plus an in-charge nurse/midwife on each shift. In high dependency units there should be a minimum of one nurse for every two patients, plus an in-charge nurse, and in critical care units there should be a minimum of one nurse for every three patients, plus an in-charge nurse.
Community health nurses and midwives should have a maximum of four hours per shift contact time with patients, leaving four hours to attend to associated duties.
Launch details
Date: Friday, 19 April 2013
1. Blacktown
Time: 3.30pm – 4.30pm
Venue
Corner Marcel Cres & Blacktown Rd, Blacktown
(Grassed area on hospital corner)
Speakers
State Opposition leader, John Robertson
Lisa Kremmer, NSWNMA Ratios Campaign director
Blacktown NSWNMA branch officials
2. Belmont
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue
Belmont District Hospital, Croudace Bay Rd, Belmont
Speakers
Brett Holmes, NSWNMA general secretary
Belmont Hospital NSWNMA branch officials
NSWNMA general secretary, Brett Holmes, said it is no longer acceptable to leave the staffing of emergency departments, high dependency units and community health centres to chance.
“There is no doubt mandated minimum staffing arrangements protect safe staffing levels. Staffing levels can be assessed against a mandated minimum requirement, which means we can act decisively when governments and hospital managers try to undermine safe staffing just to save a bit of money.
“Nurses and midwives at Sydney hospitals like RPA and the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle have already had experience working under the first round of compulsory, minimum staffing ratios of six nursing hours per patient per day and they are clear that these ratios have provided a safer clinical and less stressed working environment.
“In the second stage of implementing this important staffing reform, we must ensure that patients at all hospitals, irrespective of their size, have the same guaranteed minimum nursing levels in the general wards as the big city hospitals and that emergency departments, high dependency units and community health services also have guaranteed safer nursing levels.
“That is the challenge for the O’Farrell Government – to build on this first round of staffing reform and ensure every public patient in NSW has access to the same level of safer care.
“O’Farrell Government ministers and MPs are very willing to take credit every time a new batch of nurses or midwives is employed to fill the new positions created by this first round of ratios, which were actually agreed between the NSWNMA and previous Labor government.
“Many, including Mr O’Farrell himself, were out last week boasting about employing 4000 extra nurses and midwives since the current government came to office. The fact is that is a simple head count and includes part-timers and casuals. The reality in terms of full-time-equivalents is closer to 2000, with about 1700 FTEs being the nurses and midwives required to meet the first round of safer staffing ratios.
“While welcoming the State Government’s compliance with those ratio requirements, it will be interesting to see how it reacts now that it has a chance to act in its own right and extend this reform into other important areas such as emergency departments, high dependency units, children’s hospitals, rural facilities and community health services. If it does not heed the strong message being sent by the State’s nurses and midwives and do the right thing, then this Ratios put patient safety first campaign will escalate,” Mr Holmes said.
Background
The statewide Ratios put patient safety first campaign was launched in Sydney on Tuesday, 19 March. Local launches, similar to tomorrow’s at Blacktown and Belmont, will be held around the State over the next few weeks. Launches have already been held at Katoomba-Blue Mountains, Muswellbrook-Upper Hunter, Tamworth, Bathurst, Goulburn, Nowra, Grafton, Kempsey, Maitland, Wagga Wagga, Gilgandra, Royal Prince Alfred, Ryde and Coffs Harbour.
A record 214 NSWNMA branches, representing more than 30,000 public-sector nurses and midwives throughout NSW, have endorsed the NSWNMA’s ratios and wages claim, which was then formally presented to the State Government, through the Health Ministry, on March 11.
A key feature of the 2013 claim is guaranteed, safer nursing and midwifery levels for seriously ill children, emergency departments, high dependency units and rural hospitals and multipurpose services, and safer nursing and midwifery staffing arrangements in community health services.
The claim also includes two 2.5 per cent per year payrises, which will provide the majority of experienced, full-time nurses and midwives with a payrise of more than $70.00 per week, or more than $3800.00 per year, by July 2014.
The current Public Health System Nurses & Midwives (State) Award expires on June 30 this year.
Contact details
Brett Holmes
Ph: 02 85951234
