The Northern Rivers Times Newspaper - Edition 113

Health system ‘buggered’ MP tells striking nurses

By Tim Howard

The NSW Health system is “buggered” says Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis, although he is not as sure about what it takes to fix it as around 100 striking nurses in Grafton. Mr Gulaptis addressed a rally of nurses and other NSW Health staff in Market Square last week, declaring he supported their view the hospital system was in crisis. The rally, on Thursday, was part of a statewide 24-hour strike by nurses in support of their push for a nurses to patient ratio of staffing and a pay rise to help attract more people to the profession. The Grafton rally

was passionate with an energised crowd demanding speakers listen to the views of the nurses. “Listen to us, we know the answers,” was a

common cry from the crowd. The answers, according to the speakers who addressed the rally would

be to change the way nurses were rostered to ensure fixed ratios of nurses to patients. The NSW Nurses and

Midwives Association advocates for a rule of thumb of one nurse to three patients in emergency wards and one to four in other wards. Maclean nurses’

union secretary Mel McDonough told the rally she was one of the nurses voting with her feet because of job pressure.

This rally was her last job as branch secretary because she had resigned to work in the private sector.

“I don’t feel safe at work,” she said. “We experience situations where we find one nurse looking after seven or eight patients. “We’re now working

12-15 hours a day and nurses are refusing to work overtime. “Once we used to fight for overtime shifts. Now

it’s just too much.” Ms McDonough said the Clarence was facing bigger problems unless changes were made to increase numbers and retention rates. “We’re considered a border town,” she said. “It’s considered nothing for a nurse from here to hop across the border into Queensland. “There Queensland health has staffing ratios and better rates of pay. “Why wouldn’t you move a few hours north for a job where you’re better paid and come

home thinking you’ve done everything you could to help your patients.” Ms McDonough said there was empirical evidence patient to staff ratios work. “There’s a studies in Victoria, Queensland and out of the USA, which show staffing ratios save money, save lives and increase productivity,” she said. She said the imminent rebuild of the Grafton Base Hospital, which would need more staff to function effectively,

would add to the staffing pressures. When addressing the rally Mr Gulaptis faced aggressive questioning from the crowd, but he was able to quieten most with a promise to take their views to NSW Regional Health Minister Bronnie Taylor. He began by thanking the nurses for their outstanding work during the Covid-19 pandemic. He went on to describe the NSW health system as “buggered”, admitting that the band aid measures of locum doctors and agency nurses was not able to fill the gap. He also recognised it was unfair for nurses in the public system to be paid at lower rates than nurses in private hospitals. But he said the NSW Government had allocated money for 7500 new health staff in the last budget, which was a sign it had accepted there was a problem. The next speaker, Cr Debrah Novak, who revealed she had recently been a patient in the local

Departing Maclean branch secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, Mel McDonough, leads the chants at the nurses rally in Grafton last Thursday

Mr Gulaptis his baptism of fire as an MP in 2012, during the downsizing of the Grafton jail. “You learned then you had to stand up for your community, ahead of your political party,” she said. “This can be your legacy.” But Cr Novak said for his commitment to change to be really worthwhile, she would like to see it in writing. She also called on the community to flood the MP with messages bearing the hashtags like #strike4ratios to hammer home the community support for nurses. Grafton nurses union branch secretary Thea Kowal, also an emergency nurse, painted a dire picture of a day at work. “How do you feel knowing when you walk into work that if a person comes in with a heart attack you won’t be able to provide the level of care that patient needs,” Ms Kowal said. “And that’s on a normal day, when we’re

supposedly full staffed.” She pointed that when nurses enlist for the job they tick a box saying they must provide an adequate level of care to each of their patients. “It’s heartbreaking to hear 80% of your colleagues want to leave the job because they can’t provide the level of care they want to give,” she said. Away from the microphone, Mr Gulaptis agreed the health system was in dire trouble, but said the source of the problems was a bloated administration, which soaked up an inordinate amount of the health budget. “Staff ratios aren’t the answer,” he said. “There’s a fat middle section of administration that needs to be cut open and cleaned out. “The money could then be redirected to the frontline health workers.” Mr Gulaptis, who won’t be standing at the next state election, said the band aid measures of agency nurses being paid double the

rate of full time staff and locums – doctors brought in on as much as $3000 a day – were another sign of a system in trouble. Mr Gulaptis said he could remember when Maclean Hospital performed operations and delivered babies, but relied on a relatively small administrative staff backing up a dedicated local doctors and nurses. “Now we have administrators to make sure every rule and regulation is followed,” he said. “I don’t know what the answer is, but there has to be changes because it’s not working now.” He said he would spend the last six months of his term fighting to improve the situation in public hospitals. But the last word has to go to the nurses, who warned last Thursday’s strike action won’t be the last time nurses “get out on the grass”. “We will be back here again, until we get what we need,” Ms Kowal warned.