Regional organiser for the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, Mark Murphy, said the turn out of South Coast nurses and midwifes to the Bomaderry rally was “fantastic”.
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“It just showed the level of commitment local nurses throughout this region have for their patients,” Mr Murphy said.
And the campaign is set to be expanded to a global stage.
September 17 will be the next day of action and that will include nurses and midwives from across NSW and Australia joining with colleagues from around the world in Global Nurses United to be the pinnacle of a world-wide day of action.
“It is not just us here in NSW that are fighting for better nursing ratios, it’s right around the world and we will be part of that on September 17,” he said.
“A resolution has been put forward to continue our fight for safe patient care and more than 5000 members voted to endorse that.
“This is a show of support and solidarity and drives home the point that nurses really care about our patients and our campaign is all about safe patient care.
“Health Minister Skinner says it is not a one size fits all and regional centres can’t be the same as Sydney.
“But if you have pneumonia and live in Sydney or have pneumonia and live in a regional area, why should you receive less nursing hours of care in a week just because of the postcode you live in?”
An Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District spokeswoman confirmed that despite “a number” of nurses walking off the job on Wednesday the hospitals across the district were adequately staffed.
