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Melanoma mission: ‘Doing it for Lionel’PAGE 4
How to help Trangie swimming control feral pigs carnival breaks STORY: PAGE 2 records SPORT
Trangie nurses join statewide strike By SHARON BONTHUYS Amee and Shaun Dennis from Quentin Park Alpacas & Studio Gallery.
Alpacas put Tomingley officially on the map By SHARON BONTHUYS A SMALL family-owned rural business has officially put Tomingley on the map with a bronze award at the NSW Tourism Awards, held on February 3. Quentin Park Alpacas and Studio Gallery received bronze in the new tourism business category of the 2021 awards behind giant corporate entities the Sydney Zoo and A For Adina Sydney. Owners Amee and Shaun Dennis knew they were fi nalists in the awards late last year but had no idea what other businesses they were up against in the hotly contested new tourism business category until the awards night. They were blown away watching the virtual awards ceremony when they heard their small family business announced as the bronze winner and a huge dot appeared on the Continued page 6
A group of nurses at Trangie Multi-Purpose Health Service (MPHS) joined the statewide strike action launched by the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) this week. They joined nurses and midwives at more than 150 public hospitals and health services across NSW in demonstrating against the NSW government’s failure to introduce nurse-to-patient ratios on every shift. As part of the strike action, NSWNMA members at Trangie MPHS left their roles for two hours from 10am to 12pm on February 15. Lisa Leathem, president of the Trangie MPHS branch of the NSWNMA, left her rostered shift at the MPHS with another colleague to participate in the strike action. They were joined by an additional five colleagues outside the front gate of the MPHS for the duration of the strike action. Ms Leathem said the reaction from hospital management when the strike action was announced was “brilliant”. “We had full support from our health services manager and nurse unit manager,” Ms Leathem. The nurses believed the strike action would bring the desired result from NSW Health. The Narromine Star asked
Nurses joined Tuesday’s state strike action at Trangie Multi-Purpose Health Service. PHOTO: NARROMINE STAR.
Ms Leathem what would happen if an emergency occurred during the strike action – one of the questions that NSW Health authorities would not answer when asked. “If an emergency presents, we will stop striking immediately and go in and assist. Our main focus is safe patient care for residents and those who come into our care,” Ms Leathem said. Indeed, safe patient care is
at the heart of the strike action with one of the signs on display stating “one nurse to eight patients is not safe”. Another sign read “a fail safe system will fail without adequate staff to manage the dream”. NSWNMA general secretary, Brett Holmes, said the statewide strike was a culmination of 10-years’ inaction by the government and its refusal to negotiate with nurses
and midwives to secure safe staffing on each shift in every hospital. The Trangie nurses joined colleagues from 13 other branches of the NSWNMA in the Western NSW Local Health District who participated in the strike and called on the NSW premier to implement shift by shift nursing and midwifery staffing for safe patient care. Continued page 6
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