Nurses 'burnt out' as morale plummets

There have been claims over the weekend that nurse morale in two New South Wales far south coast hospitals is at an all-time low.

A public meeting held yesterday has been told that unmanageable rosters at Batemans Bay and Moruya hospitals are causing significant stress amongst nursing staff.

More than 100 people who attended the meeting also heard that specialist nurses are being sent to work in general wards and junior nurses are on the front-line in emergency and high dependency departments.

Nurse advocate Janice Dubavs says nurses deserve better treatment.

"Down near their shoes, it's the lowest I've ever seen it," she said.

"They're exhausted, they're burnt out - the average age of nurses up there is probably 45, 50 and they have young ones with families who are stressed because they don't always get off on time, too busy, they're exhausted, they go home and look after children."

Article from www.abc.net.au