Kempsey District Hospital nurses will join a 24-hour statewide strike as the staffing crisis continues to worsen.
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Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) Kempsey Branch will hold a rally out the front of the hospital on Wednesday, November 21, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.
"Nurses across the state will be striking over current work conditions, lack of staffing, lack of safe patient ratios and the need for better pay to aid staff retention and recruitment," NSWNMA Kempsey Branch assistant secretary Jessie Jackson said.
"Locally we continue to struggle with staff shortages, ongoing roster vacancies, excessive overtime and staff fatigue.
"Our community deserves to receive the best care possible, but with the current healthcare crisis this is becoming too much for nurses to bear."
Statewide strike action
NSWMMA General Secretary Shaye Candish said nurses and midwives are tired of being ignored over calls for safe staffing, better working conditions and fair pay.
"Since our first statewide strike on February 15, nurses and midwives have gone above and beyond to put patient care ahead of their own basic needs. Shift after shift they have continued, burdened by short staffing and constant requests for overtime," she said.
"At the end of March, we held a second statewide strike after the NSW government failed to engage in meaningful talks about shift by shift nurse-to-patient ratios to ensure safe patient care.
"Following our third statewide strike on September 1, NSW Labor announced its Safe Staffing policy, a commitment that will see improvements in emergency departments, ICUs, maternity services and Multipurpose Services, and the introduction of shift by shift staffing levels in most wards and units."
Ms Candish said this prompted talks with the NSW government.
"However, it is now mid-November and no real solutions have been offered to address the health staffing or workload crisis," she said.
The NSWNMA confirmed it would continue meeting with the NSW government to discuss members' demands for safe staffing ratios and improved working conditions.
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