Nurses at Royal North Shore hospital urge for increased staffing

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMay 4 2012

According to the nurses union, they are still waiting for a response from NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner nearly a week after they asked for her to resolve a dispute at Sydney's Royal North Shore (RNS) Hospital.

Nurses at the St Leonards hospital wrote to the minister on April 27 to resolve a staffing dispute that they said had resulted in filthy dirty rooms and infectious patients being left in corridors.

A cleaning staff shortage at the hospital had resulted in overflowing bins of garbage and dirty linen, increasing the risk of infections.

NSW Nurses' Association Assistant General Secretary Judith Kiejda today said the union was still waiting for a reply. “I think that is a pretty arrogant approach when we've got patients' health compromised,” she said, adding she was “gobsmacked” at the minister's “refusal to get involved”.

Union members had also complained that low numbers of ward personnel meant patients were developing bed sores after waiting too long for staff to help them reposition. “It is time critical,” Ms Kiejda said. “It has to happen every couple of hours - not every couple of hours if you feel like it.”

Infrashore - the consortium responsible for the $1.1 billion public-private partnership running the hospital - the subcontractor ISS Health Services and the government body Health Infrastructure are still debating about whether a significant increase in staff is needed and who should pay for it.

NSW Health Minister, Jillian Skinner, declined to speak to the media yesterday but told Parliament in question time this afternoon that the government was “determined that patient safety will not be compromised”. “I have a great deal of confidence in the negotiation that is going on behalf of the Ministry for Health involving discussions with the management, nurses and doctors and others at the northern Sydney local health district,” she said. “I have great confidence in the action plan being developed to help resolve this issue. This is a contractual dispute ... a legal dispute and all proper care is being taken to address that issue.”