Bed crisis at Lismore Base

Nurses at Lismore Base Hospital claim the North Coast Area Health Service plans to cut 18 nursing hours per day from the emergency ward, despite the fact nurses are already struggling with inadequate bed numbers to meet winter demand.

NSW Nurses Association secretary Helen O’Donnell said the union has demanded that Lismore Base Hospital management not only maintain the current level of nursing hours but also open 14 new beds at Casino and Ballina hospitals to handle the high number of people seeking care during winter.

A North Coast Area Health Service spokesperson said “no decision has been made on the allocation of nursing hours” and claimed the hospital’s Reasonable Workloads Committee had received no complaints about emergency ward staffing from either the NSW Nurses Association or nursing staff.

Ms O’Donnell said on Friday evening Lismore Base Hospital experienced an ‘internal disaster’ where there were not enough beds for patients coming through the door. She claims on Friday night beds were opened at Casino and Ballina to cope with the influx.

“If we’d had a car accident we simply could not have dealt with it. We were flooded,” said Ms O’Donnell. “In the last two years 14 extra beds at Casino and Ballina have been opened during the winter months, but this year that hasn’t happened. To suggest cutting nursing hours when the emergency department is already working at maximum capacity or beyond is just a slap in the face.”

Nurses will meet with Lismore Base Hospital management today (Thursday, August 9) to push the case to maintain staffing levels and open more beds.

“It’s frustrating when nurses are not able to give patients the care they need. I’d like Lismore Base Hospital management to explain how cutting a day shift and a night shift from the emergency department will improve patient care,” Ms O’Donnell said. “One patient recently said ‘This place is like a war zone and you guys are battling valiantly against overwhelming odds’. Patients are the ones who see what’s happening – they’re the ones waiting on an ambulance trolley for up to two hours, they’re the ones waiting for treatment and they’re the ones waiting for a bed.”

The North Coast Area Health Service will respond to the demands made by the Nurses Association by close of business today, Thursday, August 9.

Article from www.echonews.com