Nurses to strike at 160 NSW hospitals
AAP Updated July 21, 2013, 5:50 pm
Nurses and midwives will strike at more than 160 public hospitals and community health services.
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Nurses and midwives at every major hospital in NSW will be walking off the job on Wednesday.
Staff at more than 160 public hospitals and community health services across the state have notified the union about their plans to strike.
They are protesting over what they say is the state government's failure to provide safe nurse staffing levels.
NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association General Secretary Brett Holmes said more branches were expected to join the cause by Wednesday.
"For a few hundred million dollars a year the state government can dramatically improve patient care in our public hospitals," he said in a statement on Sunday.
The union wants one nurse to four patients in all general medical, surgical and acute inpatient mental health wards.
It's also calling for one nurse per three children in general children's wards and one nurse to three patients in emergency departments.
The extra staffing would "save lives and money", Mr Holmes said, adding that the nurse-to-patient ratios needed to be consistent at every hospital in NSW, including those in the country.
A special general meeting will be held at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre from 11.30am (AEST) on Wednesday, with a live webcast to 17 regional centres, including Albury, Broken Hill, Kempsey, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga.
During the strike life-preserving services will be maintained in all hospitals and community health services, the union said.
