The strike action at the Forbes Hospital last Thursday lasted for an hour at shift change and was part of the state-wide 24-hour strike.

Nurses, midwives and hospital staff in Forbes took part in the third state-wide strike action last Thursday. 

“We were only able to strike for one hour at change of shift, for which pay will be docked,” said Chloe Scheul, assistant secretary of the Forbes District Hospital Branch of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA). 

“We are fighting for safe staffing levels across the public health system. The need is urgent, staffing is in crisis and the health system is not coping,” said Chloe. “The NSW government has refused our requests for safe patient care and our immediate calls for shift-by-shift nursing and midwifery ratios. Every shift, NSW nurses and midwives are confronted with short staffing, excessive workloads and are stretched beyond what is reasonable or safe to keep our health system functioning.” 

She said the changes they wanted to staffing ratios were not unreasonable or exorbitant. “We need a guaranteed number of nurses and midwives on every shift, so we can provide safe patient care.” 

In her speech at the strike Chloe said: “We advocate for our patients and their families every day. We fight to ensure people have access to the best quality care. We fight to preserve dignity. When we are worried about a patient, we will fight to keep them safe, not stopping until they get the care they need.” 

She said the premier and health minister had both admitted there were problems with nursing and midwifery staffing levels, while the treasurer said their demands were reasonable, but they still fail to act. 

“We are the ones face-to-face with human suffering when the health system is inadequate to meet needs. We are the ones doing double shifts, overtime, coming in on our days off because we care about our patients and colleagues,” said Chloe in her speech. 

“We will continue to fight for our patients and our community.” 

The urgent need for improved maternity services and support across rural and regional NSW is the focus of the Forbes Evening CWA Branch’s annual Awareness Week campaign. Robyn Miller, President of Forbes Evening Branch as well as Oxley CWA Group, said the issue was on the CWA’s radar at its annual state conference in Sydney in May. 

“Just because you choose to live outside our major cities doesn’t mean you should have to tolerate a lower standard of medical care and support,” said Robyn. “Expectant mothers and new mothers should feel safe and supported, but what we heard during and after the inquiry was that this is far from the case for those living in rural and regional areas.” 

Robyn said it was valuable to hear from the maternity team at the Lachlan Health Service that our birthing care is of the highest standards. “The expert team of doctors and nurses providing care in Lachlan, throughout the maternity journey of women and families, are focused on support and care that is evidence based and provided in partnership,” said Robyn. 

There is sometimes a need based on the individual requirements of a woman to escalate her care to a centre with specific treatment options – we are fortunate to have Orange to provide this tertiary care. 

Lachlan Health Service Manager Rach Ellem said: “There is a long history of dedicated clinicians that endures today across Lachlan Maternity Services. The community can be very confident in the level of expertise and care provided locally.” 

*Visit the Forbes Evening CWA Branch Centenary Display at the Forbes Show where we will have a Lachlan Maternity Services midwife available at various times to discuss the services available in the Commercial Pavilion today and tomorrow. 

By Sue Cunningh