Due to understaffing, the NSW Nurses’ Union has filed a lawsuit against the state government for violating patient care awards.
For what it claims to be systemic non-compliance with staffing ratios state-wide, including at major hospitals like Concord, Royal Prince Alfred, Westmead, Liverpool, Nepean, Wollongong, and Gosford, the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) has prepared a statement of claim for the Supreme Court.
The union asserts that the legal action is a final alternative because non-compliance persists in spite of numerous debates in the Industrial Relations Commission.
If the state is found to have violated public health awards, the court case may result in financial fines.
According to the union,’systemic understaffing’ has recently resulted in patients at a number of large hospitals missing out on 120,000 hours of nurse treatment.
Throughout “recent months and years,” 10 hospitals were involved in 1,484 violations, according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Gosford Hospital on the Central Coast had the most staffing violations, with 777 award violations between 2018 and 2022, according to data from a Government Information Public Access (GIPA) application.
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The union asserts that from July to October of last year, more than 700 times, nine additional metropolitan and regional hospitals failed to supply enough staff each shift, resulting in subpar service.
There have also been 155 violations reported at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, 107 violations at Concord Hospital, and 99 violations at Westmead.
The contraventions included in the court documents, according to union general secretary Shaye Candish, are a conservative estimate.
Despite the best efforts of nurses working understaffed shifts, the chosen staffing model of the NSW government is no longer appropriate for its intended use and is failing to provide patients with a safe level of care when they most need it, according to Ms. Candish.
“We are talking about hundreds of thousands of nurse care hours that were not delivered on general medical and surgical wards, which means patients may have missed timely care, such blood pressure checks, wound care, or showers due to insufficient or hazardous staffing.
Prior to the state election, the union has been advocating improved nurse-to-patient ratios through continued industrial action.
It claims that despite the fact that staff ratios are already required by law in the ACT, Queensland, and Victoria, NSW is lagging behind these other states in this area.
The statement of claim has this morning been lodged in the NSW Supreme Court and served on the Crown Solicitor.
It is scheduled for May.
