Tamworth's NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association speaks out about birthing situation in Gunnedah amid Tamworth staff shortages

The Leader revealed in January that the specialist doctor required for births only serviced Gunnedah during daytime hours after moving to Tamworth.

But, the local heath district insisted at the time pregnant woman could access "safe and appropriate care" at the town's hospital, and that it was "actively recruiting".

Now, on-the-ground staff have spoken out, confirming all births that happen in Gunnedah outside business hours and on weekends have to be transferred to Tamworth.

The maternity unit in Tamworth is already short on midwives and has had no extra staff come on board to assist the extra mothers arriving from out-of-town just to give birth, including from places like Moree and Narrabri, according to union representatives.

Claire Salter, a steward for the Tamworth branch of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association, said it was unsustainable.

"We need so many midwives here in Tamworth - we're 19 full-time equivalent staff short - that is a lot," she said on Thursday.

"It's unsafe, it's scary, and we are worried everyday that something is going to go wrong.

"It's people's lives, and they matter."

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Ms Salter said there were mothers that had feared giving birth on the side of the road, and had to leave their homes and families at such a vulnerable time.

A spokesperson for the Hunter New England Health (HNEH) district confirmed to the Leader on Thursday there is no on-call anaesthetist in Gunnedah outside the hours of 8am and 5pm on weekdays, and on weekends.

The spokesperson confirmed all women in Gunnedah who need to give birth overnight or on the weekend must come to Tamworth, about an hour away, regardless of whether they are deemed high-risk or not.

Other smaller hospitals in the district go into "by-pass" at times, where they also cannot deliver babies and pregnant women must come to Tamworth, Ms Salter said.

Leonie Goldfinch, also a steward at the local union branch, said during a rally outside Tamworth hospital on Thursday that it was "a huge increase for the same staffing".

"We're all feeling a little overwhelmed with the workload, we're feeling like there's nothing more we can give and we're already giving so much," she said.

"When we walk out at the end of the day, we might walk out to deficits on the ward, and there's nothing we can do."

The HNEH spokesperson confirmed it is actively recruiting for an anaesthetist in Gunnedah and other vacancies, and said the demand in Tamworth from out-of-towners had risen by about 10 mothers per month.

HNEH did not respond in a statement to specific questions from the Leader detailing the claims from the union about the maternity situation, but said it was "grateful" to staff.

"We appreciate this increases the workload for our dedicated midwives in Tamworth, who provide exemplary support to the women and babies in their care, and each other," a HNEH spokesperson said.

NURSES and midwives again rallied outside Tamworth hospital on Thursday to make their demands for staff-to-patient ratios heard.

Ms Salter said there needed to be one midwife to every three patients in the maternity ward, and said the babies had to count in their numbers.

Ms Goldfinch backed the calls.

She said some staff were doing two or three double shifts each week, which she described as "crazy".

"I don't understand how we got to that point," she said.

Ms Goldfinch said she had seen nurses and midwives leave to go interstate, like to Queensland or Victoria, where there are ratios and they think they're more protected.

"If you don't pick up a shift, that means your co-workers are left trying to deal with maybe two shortages on the ward, and maybe a midwife has been pulled from the ward to the birth suite, and then where do women get their care from?" she said.

"Our morale is so low."

The union has also urged a cleaner to be employed for the evening shift in the Tamworth maternity ward, to cover duties after the morning cleaner leaves at 2.30pm.

Branch secretary Jill Telfer said it left short-staffed midwives having to clean the birthing suites themselves to get another patient into a room or bathroom after that time.

"We need help," she said.

A HNEH spokesperson said it was working with HealthShare NSW to manage cleaning arrangements.

THE union claims patients are receiving inadequate care and in its plans to file a case in the NSW Supreme Court, it accuses the government of repeatedly breaching award conditions.

Ms Telfer said between 2019 and 2022 - pre-dating COVID-19 - Tamworth hospital was short almost 4000 nursing hours.

That is the equivalent of more than 167 days of work that were not able to be provided by management, Ms Telfer said.

"We are working harder than we have ever done," she said.

She said staff-to-patient ratios would go a long way to help, but the next government needed to listen and act.

"This government has not listened to us ... I feel like we've heard crickets," she said.

"I'm proud to be a nurse - we need to have a system where we're welcoming new nurses in and we're not overwhelmed."

A NSW Health spokesperson said in a statement that the 'nursing hours per patient day' (NHPPD) award system is flexible and allows hospitals to increase staffing where needed.

NHPPD considers the numbers of patients, their complexity, acuity and care needs while allowing for the professional judgement of nurses and managers to adjust staffing levels to reflect the changing care needs of patients," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that while providing staff above the agreed minimum has been commonplace during COVID, there have been challenged to staffing.

Delays in access to NDIS packages and aged care beds have also had an impact, they said.

"Compliance [with NHPPD] is improving due to a combination of extensive, ongoing recruitment, a record intake of new nursing and midwifery graduates in 2023, workforce strategies and the decreased impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in recent times," the spokesperson said.

"NSW Health recognises and is deeply thankful for the outstanding commitment and tireless efforts of our healthcare workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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