Nurses at Lightning Ridge were among hundreds who rallied yesterday (Thursday 16 March) in around twenty towns across the state over short staffing and the need for safe nurse-to-patient ratios.

Four members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Associaiton (NSW NMA) staged their protest during their break time at the Lightning Ridge MPS which the NMA says has some of the highest vacancies in the state.

According to the NMA, a recent review of full-time equivalent nursing vacancies has shown that Lightning Ridge MPS has 11.89 full time equivalent (FTE) positions that are not permanently filled.

Western Region organiser for the NMA Tracey Coyte said that while the Lightning Ridge rally probably didn't draw a crowd, it was important for members in regional and remote areas to send their message along with others in the state.

"There's probably nobody to see them in these small towns but it's about calling it out for what it is," she said "We've had 12 years of neglect."

"You don't just lose 12 nurses overnight and Lightning Ridge is up there with the worst in the state."

"A full-time nurse is contracted to work 38 hours per week so if you do the math that's 456 hours every week that needs to be found some other way - usually by existing staff working ridiculous hours."

She says that temporary staff can only fill the gaps for so long.

Ms Coyte says that without short term agency nurses "places like Lightning Ridge would be absolutely stuffed."

"There are holes in the system," she said. "Agency nurses fill those holes for a short period of time, they come and they go, but the holes remain."

Rally for ratios

 The NSW NMA members say the loss of experienced nurses and midwives has put considerable strain on an already stretched health system.

"Every mainland state in Australia has responded to the staffing demand by committing to nurse-to-patient ratios, except NSW," Ms Coyte said. "A staffing ratio would ensure the right number of nurses or midwives are available per shift to provide safe patient care."

The NSW NMA says that what is currently in place is a "complicated system that is being breached and manipulated in a number of ways", leaving nurses and patients short when it matters most.

On Wednesday (15 March) they launched an action in the Supreme Court alleging over 1484 award breaches in terms of nursing hours per patient day between 2019 and 2022.

According to data obtained by the NMA, more than 10,000 award breaches occurred over the four-year period, adding up to over 500,000 hours of missing nursing hours.

NSW NMA members with State Secretary Shaye Candish announcing the filing of their case in the Supreme Court. SOURCE: NSWNMA facebook

They are asking voters across the west to back them by calling on all election candidates to support the introduction of a safe nursing and midwifery ratio system on every shift, in every hospital in NSW.

"Lightning Ridge is a twenty eight bed facility with an emergency department, a ward for sick people and an aged care section," said Ms Coyte.

"In an MPS at the moment there's nothing to say how many nurses have to be on each roster."

"When you've got an enrolled nurse and a registered nurse on duty, who looks after the aged care ward when a road trauma case or a farm accident victim comes in? They are forced to choose, and mostly these are their friends and neighbours they're making these decisions about. It's really awful for them."

The NMA members in Lightning Ridge rallied in their own time yesterday, during a scheduled break.