Nurses and midwives demand action over severe hospital staff shortage

"We work short-staffed, and we work short-staffed often," NSW Nurses' and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) Tamworth branch secretary Jill Telfer told the Leader.

Last week, local obstetrician Lilach Leibenson told a state inquiry that Tamworth hospital is at a 58 per cent deficit in its midwifery staff and half of on-call consultant and registrar shifts are covered by locum doctors.

She said the midwife shortage was likely to worsen to a 64 per cent deficit by September.

Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) did not confirm nor deny the figures quoted by Dr Leibenson nor what the consequences will be if the midwife shortage continues to worsen.

"There is a global shortage of midwives, and attracting and retaining the required workforce to fill the number of current vacancies in rural and regional areas is a challenge across Australia," an HNELHD spokesperson said.

"However, we continue to respond with targeted, strategic workforce planning and make every effort to fill vacancies when they arise."

But the NSWNMA says Dr Leibenson's figures are accurate and demands the state government change course before it's too late.

Speaking on behalf of the union, Ms Telfer said the challenges of attracting workers to the regions was far from the full story.

"Yes there is a worldwide shortage of midwives, but you can get paid so much more in Queensland and you have better entitlements in Queensland and Victoria," she said.

"For younger nurses and midwives that are more mobile, that's very attractive."

The union recently released a report prepared by the University of Sydney showing how a statewide staffing drain is the last thing an already-strained rural health system needs.

"We are bleeding nurses and midwives to other states, and we can't afford it. When you're short-staffed in the first instance, that's crazy," Ms Telfer said.

She said the wage disparity between NSW and Queensland was having a profound effect on local nurses, prompting them to leave from "every ward and unit" in Tamworth hospital.

"For Tamworth it's further exacerbated because a lot of our smaller sites - Narrabri, Gunnedah, sometimes Moree - they might not have services so birthing women have to come here," Ms Telfer said.

The local health district says rural women travelling hundreds of kilometres to give birth is not a new issue and Tamworth hospital can handle the demand from surrounding rural towns.

"Tamworth hospital is a level 4 maternity service and is a hub for maternity care for women in the New England and North West regions. The maternity unit is staffed according to need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," the HNELHD spokesperson said.

"We continue to support the wellbeing of our staff and monitor rosters to always ensure a safe working environment."

But the NSWNMA argues the system is rapidly reaching a breaking point.

"The midwives here are incredible. They're so committed to the local community, but they're tired and worried. They're worried if they can sustain it because it's not getting better," Ms Telfer said.

"I'm not aware of any woman whose life has been put at risk, but I don't know if we can keep that up."

The nurses and midwives' union has proposed a one-off 15 per cent wage increase to become competitive with pay rates in Queensland.

Ms Telfer says it might sound like a lot, but making the NSW health system competitive with neighbouring states will save the government money in the long run by reducing recruitment costs and reliance on locum agencies.

"We're doing extreme amounts of overtime and extra shifts, and it costs money every time they have to re-recruit to a position that becomes vacant, so there are savings that can be made by making us competitive with other states," she said.

"[Agency staff] cost a huge amount more. They get a living away from home allowance that's just under $120 a day, seven days a week, and then we have to pay the agency a weekly fee that varies depending on the agency."

So far the government has rejected the NSWNMA's wage claim, though negotiations are ongoing.

"The health minister and the premier have both said they cannot afford our claim. What I'm saying is they can't afford not to. We can't have any more valuable nurses and midwives leave the state," Ms Telfer said.

Outside of wage negotiations, the union's Tamworth branch has also written directly to NSW Health Minister Ryan Park requesting he move the hospital up to the next level on the state's Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme.

The request was denied because Tamworth is not "remote" enough.