Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Nurses say hospital is ‘running thin’
When registered nurse Amanda Hessell, 27, moved from Auckland to Blenheim, she was surprised by how thinly resourced Wairau Hospital was.
‘‘I just moved here. There’s less staff here,’’ Hessell said.
‘‘I think the issue is, I came from such a big hospital. Here, I feel like often we’re trying to get the patients out, because we have more coming in, we’re at capacity.’’
Hessell was one of over 50 nurses in Blenheim that participated in the nationwide strike on Wednesday, attended by thousands of her colleagues across the country.
Nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants walked off the job for an eight-hour strike in demand of better pay and staffing levels.
In Blenheim, about 40 staff walked off their shift at Wairau Hospital at 11am.
They joined even more healthcare staff at Seymour Square before marching to the Cleghorn Rotunda on Market Place at midday.
‘‘It’s really about better staffing for our patients, so we can provide the best possible treatment,’’ Hessell said.
Fellow registered nurse Alex Williams said the hospital was ‘‘running thin’’.
‘‘Lots of our young nurses are leaving to go to Australia, and some nurses, the more experienced are leaving to the private sector because it’s better pay, better conditions,’’ Williams said.
‘‘Going into the first year, I was really passionate and keen from studying. Then when I got into the workplace it was really stressful, I got really sick and rundown, we’re chucked in the deep end and expected to sink or swim.
She said in the last six months, she had noticed people leaving for the GP sectors and to the private sector.
‘‘Blenheim is a smaller area, so all of the younger nurses want to go overseas where the money is good, or to a bigger area like Wellington, Christchurch or Auckland where there’s more going on,’’ she said.
‘‘We’re not trying to be greedy, we just want to be appreciated for the hard work that we do and to be able to give the best care that we can, not be stretched.’’
A registered nurse of 16-years, Bronwyn Hamilton, who worked in Wairau Hospital’s emergency department, said pay rates simply did not attract people into the field.
‘‘The staffing levels especially in the DHB, they’re leaving us at breaking point. They’re putting ourselves and our patients at risk,’’ Hamilton said.
‘‘I think nurses are exhausted, we’re tired, every time we have a pay negotiation.
‘‘It’s already been going on for a year, we keep having to fight over and over again.’’
She said the emergency department was extremely high stress, with huge responsibility.
‘‘We deal with traumas, we deal with mental health patients, we deal with pretty much anything that comes through the door in any state,’’ she said.
‘‘We’re responsible for giving medications, giving care for patients, but we’re also responsible for keeping an eye on our colleagues.
She said the district health board had been promising safe staffing levels for years.
‘‘It was in our last contract three years ago safe staffing would be fully implemented by July, and it’s still not done, and we’re still fighting for it, and we should not have to be fighting for it.’’
Hamilton’s colleague, Sue Davies, said the strike was about protecting the future.
‘‘A nurse has massive legal responsibilities, we’re responsible if we harm someone.
‘‘It’s not just about money, although that is a large component, most of it is about safe staffing, and being able to go to work to do your job and look after your patients. And we can’t do that, because we’re constantly under resourced.’’