Sutherland Hospital nurses and midwives have gathered in unity, rallying outside the hospital on Tuesday, as part of their demand for safe staffing.
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The Sutherland Hospital Branch of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association met during lunchtime in protest of what they say is a slow roll-out of desperately needed workers by the NSW Government.
It comes as private hospital nurses and midwives launched historic industrial action earlier this month, with plans to strike on Thursday.
Public sector nurses and midwives are demanding a one-year 15 per cent "lifeline to fix the staffing crisis in the public health system," the union stated, and to stop nurses and midwives leaving the industry or moving interstate for better pay and conditions.
To attract and retain experienced nurses and midwives, NSWNMA members say they want their wages to reflect their vital work, and also respect the state's largest female-dominated professions.
President of the Sutherland Branch, Colette Duff, said nurses and midwives had been underpaid and undervalued by successive Coalition state governments for more than a decade. "We have some real issues in NSW with recruitment and retention of nurses, and we are really having trouble here at Sutherland," Ms Duff said.
"We are the lowest paid nurses in the country. A good example is a new graduate in Queensland earns 18 per more than a new grad in Sydney. We are also not working with ratios. We are working harder, for less. We have lost people to Queensland because they can get better pay and work in better conditions and afford to buy a house and have a better quality of life."
She said staff were frustrated at a lack of clarity. "The ministry is refusing to release a timetable for the roll-out of ratios, so we have no idea when it's coming," Ms Duff said. "The past 18 months two hospitals have had them implemented - Liverpool and North Shore. They announced yesterday Liverpool and Port Macquarie. But that doesn't help us here and we're incredibly busy. We see the same number of people as St George in a day and we're not even close to their staffing. Why are we having to beg? Nurses work seven days a row, get one day off, and they're back again."
A growing ageing population in Sutherland Shire meant more older patients were presenting to hospital, and needed more time to be seen, she said. "We have a frail, older population here. They're quite unwell, they have lots of comorbidities - they are complex patients," Ms Duff said. "
"It shouldn't matter where you live. You should get the same standard of care. If you have a stroke at Sutherland or St George, you should feel safe that you're going to get the same level of attention and care that you would get at either hospital. And that's not the case here - you're going to wait longer here."
Ms Duff, who has a masters degree and nearly 30 years experience, says staff are going above and beyond to keep patients happy. "But it's at our expense," she said. "I don't feel valued by the government and ministry. They are bleeding the system. We're giving up breaks. We are losing staff all the time. People are going to banking, to cosmetic injecting...we have staff turnover, and the workforce is incredibly junior.
"We have a lot of fantastic new grads, they are hardworking, dedicated, caring, and they want to do a good job, and we need to keep them. They say they don't know how much longer they can do it. Overtime hours are pushing the workforce to the limit. We have come to the point they have to prioritise they own health. We need to look after them so they can stay. It's disheartening."
St George Hospital nurses and midwives also held a rally on Tuesday.
A NSW Government spokesperson said negotiations were still in the early stages. "As always, we will work closely and constructively with workers and their unions," he said. "Eight negotiation meetings have been held between NSW Health and the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association since a log of claims was served in May 2024.
"Since taking office, the NSW Government has invested heavily in the health workforce including major priorities identified by the union and workforce. Last year the NSW Government abolished the wages cap and delivered the largest pay rise for nurses and midwives in over a decade, with the majority of NSWNMA members voting to accept this 4.5 per cent wages offer."
He said other workforce priorities delivered by the NSW Government included $572 million to provide permanent funding for the jobs of 1112 nurses and midwives left unfunded from June 30 this year by the previous government, the commencement of major staffing reform with recruitment underway to implement Safe Staffing Levels [at other hospitals], and $121.9 million for Health Study Subsidies including more than 1500 scholarships offered to nurses and midwives currently studying or graduating who commit to work in NSW Health.
"The number of nurses has increased by over 2000 FTE since taking office (to a total of over 56,000 FTE) and the retention rate has improved by 1 percentage point to 93.5 per cent," he said.
