Stacey Jeffery, the secretary of the Moruya branch of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, says the February 13 march is the latest move in the long-running battle to achieve parity with staffing levels in city hospitals.

At a meeting on January 28 with an association organiser, Wayne Baxter, the members also resolved to ask Bega MP Andrew Constance to support their claim for six nursing hours per patient per day, which is equivalent to staffing levels in city hospitals.

“In rural hospitals we have five nursing hours per patient per day,” Ms Jeffery said.

“We want our local member to stand behind us, and the community, and fight for equal patient care in rural hospitals.

“There are five hospitals in the Bega electorate and none of them have ratios in general.”

Ms Jeffery said the campaign was focused on staff to patient ratios.

“In Sydney hospitals, there is one staff member for four patients on wards and one staff member for three patients in emergency,” she said.

“At Moruya Hospital, the equivalent is one staff to five patients on morning shifts, one to six on the afternoon shift and an average of one to 10, and up to 12, on night shifts.

“Increasing the nursing hours to six doesn’t sound like much, but it would bring rural hospitals into line with those in the city.”

Ms Jeffery said that when the association achieved the change in better ratios, city hospitals saw the benefits but not country hospitals.

Branch members would like to see a uniform and equitable approach to staffing levels in all hospitals in the state, where staff to patient ratios applied, not nursing hours per patient.

“There are five hospitals in the Bega electorate and none of them have ratios in general,” Ms Jeffery said.

Branch assistant secretary Geraldine Cowdroy says the community and patients are missing out on the best care because the government won’t introduce equal ratios for country and city hospitals.

“Illnesses are the same in all areas,” Ms Cowdroy said.

“The city nurses are supporting us – they realise we don’t have the same resources.”

Ms Jeffery said that Mr Constance’s comment on the radio on Monday morning that the nurses’ action was a political stunt, implied that Mr Constance was happy that city people received better nursing care than his constituents.

“Mr Constance has his head buried in the sand; next month his government could suffer the same fate as Queensland’s did last weekend,” she said.

BEGA MP Andrew Constance says the state government has employed 1600 new nurses in country hospitals since coming into office in 2011.

Speaking in response to calls from the Moruya branch of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association for him to fight for equal patient care in rural hospitals, Mr Constance said his door was always open.

“The current nursing hours per patient per day ratio was signed by the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association with the Labor government in 2010 and has operated ever since,” Mr Constance said.

“This government has struck a pay deal with the association and at the same time is investing at record levels in new hospital infrastructure and recurrent spending, such as the $6.5 million being spent on the new oncology unit and renal unit at Moruya District Hospital.

“For us to have put in 1600 new nurses in country hospitals alone, struck a pay deal and maintained the ratio which the union signed up to with the Labor government is designed to ensure we give our wonderful nurses greater scope to deliver terrific patient care.

“My door is open for local nurses to meet and, in particular, it is vital we continue to have flexibility for hospital managers when it comes to managing patients’ needs, from emergency departments to the wards.”