Nursing Vacancies in Wagga

Date: 23 August 2001

Wagga Wagga Base Hospital already has at least 21 nurse positions vacant and the nursing shortage will get worse because at least two more full-time nurses have resigned from the hospital in recent days, the New South Wales Nurses Association (NSWNA) said today.

The vacancies at the Wagga Wagga Hospital are in addition to seven nurse vacancies at the community health service.

Nearly 400 NSWNA members at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital have joined around 10,000 other nurses around NSW and established a campaign committee and started work bans as part of the NSWNA's What's a Nurse Worth? campaign.

NSWNA Assistant Secretary, Brett Holmes, said 21 vacancies out of Wagga Wagga Base's 210 full-time-equivalent nursing positions puts a lot of pressure on the remaining nurses.

"As well, NSWNA members at Wagga Wagga Base report that the emergency department has had up to nine of its 18 positions vacant in recent months. Nurse shortages in emergency departments have become a common problem around the State and the general shortage is making the situation worse, especially in regional centres such as Wagga Wagga.

"If nurses have to be redeployed from the general wards, there is seldom enough nurses to replace them at the moment. This means tired nurses have to work more overtime or large numbers of casuals and agency nurses have to be brought in.

"And there are plenty of other examples of the impact of the nurse shortage in Wagga Wagga. For example, I am advised there is one 28-bed ward at the Base, which had only six full-time registered nurses working on the most recent roster - and one of those was the nurse unit manager. Another 11 registered nurses were working reduced hours as permanent part-timers, most by choice to reduce work pressure. In the same ward there was only one full-time enrolled nurse, but fifteen part-time enrolled nurses on the roster.

"In the hospital's surgical ward, with 30 beds, there were six full-time registered nurses and 13 working part-time on the most recent roster. There were seven full-time enrolled nurses and four part-time.

"The biggest cause of this problem is the comparatively low pay now being offered to nurses. For many people the pressures of the job are currently just not worth it for the money. Shift work, increasing levels of violence, increased patient acuity and heavy workloads are a fair-sized ask for anyone, but they are a big ask when you are being paid less than other comparable health professionals around you. So people are either giving up on nursing or choosing to only work a few days a week.

"The problems are compounded in regional and rural areas, because to fill positions you are often asking people to pack up everything and move. Why would they go to all that trouble at the current pay rates?

"That's why the NSWNA wants pay and conditions improved for nurses. This will ensure nursing is again an attractive career option. Despite the pressures, nursing is a great profession and people will do it if they have wage justice.

"Finally, it is also vital that the Health Department actively promote nursing in rural and regional centres. As well as providing improved pay and conditions, it means constant advertising and promotion so there is a pool of available nurses to fill vacancies as they occur. Compared with Sydney, it is a lot harder to recruit in regional and rural areas, especially during the current shortage crisis. So eternal vigilance is required from the Greater Murray Area Health Service.

"NSWNA members at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital have been making this point constantly in recent times, yet local management doesn't seem to accept there is a problem. Well, it's time they got their head out of the sand and faced reality. The people of Wagga Wagga are entitled to hospital and health services that are operating to capacity and safely staffed," Mr Holmes said.

The What's a Nurse Worth? campaign was launched in July at the NSWNA annual conference, with the objective of solving the NSW nurse shortage through better wages and conditions for nurses. Nurses are angry that the State Government has rejected a NSWNA request for an urgent NSW Industrial Relations Commission case aimed at improving nurse wages and conditions.

For further information

Contact:	Brett Holmes
Union:	Labor Council of NSW
Phone:	02-9550 3244
Contact Mobile:	0414-550 324
WWW:	http://www.nswnurses.asn.au

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