The power of nurses working together
The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) gives our heartfelt thanks to Tasmanian nurses on International Nurses Day, celebrated around the world every May 12 on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.
Whether working in a public hospital or private health, in aged care or in general practice, every nurse plays a vital role.
Nurses get out of bed each day and night to be on the frontline of our health system, and their commitment is unquestionable. They give up holidays, sleep, time with their families and risk their own health to be of service to others.
At HACSU we’ve never taken nurses for granted and we believe it’s more important than ever to acknowledge their amazing work as the world adjusts to an unsettling new normal.
We don’t underestimate their dedication and we don’t underestimate the dangers they can face because, even though in Australia we’ve been fortunate, up to January 31 this year the number of reported COVID-19 deaths of nurses in 59 countries was 2710.
The International Council of Nurses estimates that COVID, current shortages and the ageing workforce could lead to a shortfall of up to 13 million nurses around the world by 2030.
These are worrying statistics, but we believe in the power of nurses working together to help all of us when we’re in need, including those affected by the pandemic. We also believe in the power of nurses to create positive change in their workplaces for themselves and their colleagues and, most importantly, for their patients.
It’s not always just about hands-on healthcare, it can be about nurses standing up when the system isn’t working, when they’re exhausted from constant double shifts, when patients are falling through the cracks because staffing numbers are too low to provide the care that patients deserve.
The power of nurses is evident in the campaign for better staffing and manageable workloads after a frustrating staff agreement negotiation process where Healthscope all but refused to fix chronic short-staffing at Hobart Private Hospital.
The time for their employer to listen and act was long overdue so twice in March this year HACSU members took to the streets to demand more nurses immediately as part of protected industrial action that included bans on overtime. HACSU will continue to try and talk with Healthscope to insist on more staff as well as guarantees that nurses can access training and educators, appropriate precepting of grad nurses and the right staff mix that encapsulates the right skills.
We’ll also raise our concerns around unacceptable workloads caused primarily by insufficient base rostering of nurses, lack of access to breaks and increased casualisation. This is just one example of a worksite where HACSU is working with nurses to improve their lives and those of their patients.
Days like International Nurses Day give us the chance to recognise the commitment of nurses working in all areas across our state, whose working lives have changed significantly over the past year, but who continue to give their all caring for those around them.
We look up to all those workers on the front lines who go to work every day without hesitation to face their usual challenging workloads but with the added element of COVID-19.
Caring for others in our community has always been important and today, and on all days, we applaud every nurse who dedicates their days and nights to this difficult, essential and rewarding work.
The Health and Community Services Union is Tasmania’s largest and most progressive union, with more than 8500 members right across Tasmania and we’ve proudly stood by workers in this state for more than 100 years.
Members of our union work in many roles in public and private health, they care for everyone in our community from newborn babies to our oldest Australians and everyone in between.
While they support and care for others, our union cares for them and, like each one of our members, we care for our community every day.
We don’t believe that simply giving thanks is enough. We believe in making real, meaningful improvements to our members’ working lives.
We advocate for our nurses’ rights at work, for constant improvements in wages and conditions, and we’re always right beside them advocating for better services, better staffing and better funding.
If you’re a nurse our highly trained and experienced staff are here for you whenever you need help or some information or advice, and with offices in Launceston, Devonport and Hobart, we have staff right around the state who are here to assist our members with workplace matters.
Today and every day, we fight for nurses working rights across Tasmania. We encourage you to join us because while you care for others, we’re here to care for you, and together we can all make a difference.
So today, we pause to thank and recognise our nurses.