Cowra nurses join statewide strike calling for staffing ratios

During their two hour strike, local nurses held signs, chanted and marched down Kendal Street to highlight their concerns.

Cowra District Hospital NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) Branch Secretary, Sasha Pauline said staffing issues existed prior to the pandemic however COVID-19 has made working conditions "much worse".

"Essentially we got into health because we want to care for people and we've got to a point where our staffing numbers are so short that we can't do it safely, effectively and ideally," she said.

"Prior to COVID, we were already asking for ratios because we wanted to be able to do our jobs well and do our jobs right.

"Since COVID, we've lost so many staff who have gone into early retirement. We've had staff that just couldn't cope anymore and so they've actually left and we're trying to pick up the slack.

"We're constantly short staffed, exhausted, absolutely burned out and still trying to go to work with a smile on your face and do the right thing for the all these people every single day while knowing that you're stretched thin."

Ms Pauline said they are also calling for babies born in maternity wards to be counted as patients.

"They count the mothers, but not the babies so we are very passionate about getting enough nursing staff to safely look after a mother and a baby," she said.

"I know it sounds pretty simple but when you've got a baby that is born and it's sick and the mother is sick and you've got one nurse for both, it's not good enough."

On a local level, Ms Pauline said there has been added pressure placed on nurses during the pandemic and the changes made to accommodate COVID patients.

"Since COVID, we've actually lost our direct observation ward, so that's three cardiac monitored beds at Cowra that have been taken away," she said.

"They've given us back one cardiac monitored bed but no monitoring TV for that cardiac monitor so unless you're sitting in the room with the patient, you don't know that something is going wrong.

"The other big thing for us, is when they did close it [the direct observation ward] down and gave us this, what we term the hot emergency department [ED], we haven't been given any additional staffing.

"Now we have an extra two beds and a consult chair for the hot emergency and only two staff managing all of that plus everything else that comes into ED and only one staff member over night.

"It's quite simply too much, we can't deal with this anymore."

Ms Pauline said nurses are also calling for pay rises and COVID penalties.

"We got our pay rise paused so we're not keeping up with inflation anymore," she said.

"We have no COVID penalty at all. So if I go and look after a COVID patient, put my life on the line - nothing."

Ms Pauline said if staff ratios are not implemented and changes aren't made, it could have dire consequences for hospital patients.

"If we don't have enough staff, we can't provide the right care," she said.

"There's going to be a time soon where something is going to go wrong and we'll be held accountable and if we don't fight for this change, we can only really blame ourselves."