NSW nurses strike for parity with Victoria, Queensland and the ACT

The NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) wants the state government to improve nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals to stop "dangerous staffing levels and unsustainable workloads".

NSW currently has a ratio system of "nursing hours per patient day" while Victoria, Queensland and the ACT have nurse and midwife to patient ratios mandated by their governments.

Staff are also paid more in Queensland, which puts additional pressure on border shires such as Byron and Tweed, they say.

The union's general secretary Shaye Candish spoke to a crowd of more than 550 people at Newcastle's Civic Park on Thursday, saying their demand was not "radical" given ratios already exist in other states.

"Why should NSW nurses and NSW patients be left behind?" she said.

A total of 66 protests were held across NSW, including Sydney, Wollongong, Bathurst, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Gosford, Lismore, Orange and Tamworth.

A NSW Health spokesperson said the strike is in defiance of orders from the Industrial Relations Commission but that there will minimal disruptions in hospitals.

"The NSW government and NSW Health have engaged in extensive and ongoing discussions with the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association," they said.

Meanwhile, the Victorian government has announced it would pay the entire HECS debt of more than 10,000 nursing and midwifery graduates.

Under the $270m scheme, all new domestic students enrolling in undergraduate nursing and midwifery courses in Victoria in 2023 and 2024 will receive up to $16,500.

Ms Candish applauded the Victorian government's "forward thinking", warning that NSW was falling further behind other states.

"In recent years we've seen 3,000 nurses and midwives move interstate, because they can experience better working conditions with mandated safe nurse-to-patient ratios in Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and soon to be in South Australia," she said.

IN OTHER NEWS