Blacktown Hospital nurses and midwives strike over staffing and patient safety fears
Nurses and midwives at Blacktown Hospital have walked off the job less than 48 hours after threatening industrial action unless the Western Sydney Local Health District addressed their concerns over patient safety and personal wellbeing.
The move by more than 100 nurses and midwives follows up to 20 obstetricians vowing to quit last week over staffing and resourcing. Four newborns have died at the hospital over the past 18 months.
Blacktown Hospital's new maternity unit opened in August 2019.Credit:James Brickwood
After a meeting attended by 65 nurses and midwives on Tuesday afternoon, the group sought urgent talks with the Western Sydney Local Health District within the next 48 hours.
A spokeswoman for the NSW Nurses and Midwives Union said between 130 and 150 midwives and nurses from across the hospital walked off the job for 24 hours shortly after 4pm on Thursday.
Brett Holmes, general secretary of the association, said earlier this week that staffing conditions were dire and unsafe for midwives and patients alike, increasing the risk of further tragedies.
"Many of these midwives no longer feel supported, despite repeatedly raising their concerns with hospital management," he said.
"Not only are they burning out with fatigue, many of the midwives have been traumatised by tragic deaths and believe the staffing issue has become untenable, putting their clinical registrations at risk."
Mr Holmes wrote to NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Tuesday night asking him urgently to intervene.
More to come
With Kate Aubusson
Megan Gorrey is the Urban Affairs reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.