An emergency department nurse has told of the stress she and others are facing in Albury hospital's casualty ward. or signup to continue reading Leah Edwards was speaking to the media, in front of her colleagues, after nurses walked off the job at the hospital on Thursday afternoon as part of ongoing industrial action aimed at securing a better pay deal. "The staff are certainly feeling the pressure, we certainly don't have enough beds to cater to the community," Ms Edwards said.
"We often have several patients in the waiting room who need to be on beds and the issue is we don't have patient flow, so there's this immense amount of pressure on the nurses." The nurses walked off the job at 2pm for an hour with NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Albury hospital branch president Geoff Hudson saying the action was the most significant in "This is the biggest turnout we've ever had, nearly 160 nurses have walked off the job today," Mr Hudson said. "We've turned out because enough is enough, we deserve more than what we're getting.
" The NSW government has offered a 9.5 per cent pay rise plus 1 per cent superannuation over three years, but the nurses' union is seeking a 15 per cent jump. Mr Hudson said the timing of the industrial action ensured patients were not without nurses as two shifts overlapped.
"The reason why we've held this strike today during the double staffing period is because we know that we can leave a minimum safe number of staff on board so there will be no threat to patient safety," Mr Hudson said. "We are staffing wards at essentially the night shift rate." The one-hour walk-offs have occurred on different days across NSW hospitals this week.
"We've seen huge turnouts at hospitals right across the state, from Wagga to Tweed Heads to now down in Albury hundreds if not thousands have walked off the job this week to send a message to the government," Mr Hudson said. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the government was willing to continue to work with the nurses over the claim, before talking up the existing offer. "The negotiations are still ongoing and a number of meetings have been held between NSW Health and the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association since a log of claims was served in May 2024," Mr Park said.
"Since taking office, the NSW government has invested heavily in the health workforce including major priorities identified by the union and workforce. "Last year the NSW government abolished the wages cap and delivered the largest pay rise for nurses and midwives in over a decade, with the majority of NSWNMA members voting to accept this 4.5 per cent wages offer.
" NSW Health said it was "committed to working with the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association on an award which is in the best interests of both our nurses and midwives and the people of NSW". DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis.
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