Illawarra nursing the fallout
October 30, 2008
Section: News
Multiple shortcomings in the state’s health system are leading nurses throughout the Illawarra to abandon the profession in droves.
Between July 2007 and June 2008, 2262 nurses resigned from the South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service.
This equates to a rate of 119 per month.
Acting General Secretary of NSW Nursing Association, Judith Kiejda, told the Wollongong and Northern Leader there were a number of reasons for the startling figures, including a difficult six year period when trainees earned their stripes.
“The disillusionment factor comes in when the trainee nurses realise it is a 24/7 job,” Ms Kiejda said.
“They are thrown into a unit to care for six to eight people and there is not enough support so after three or four months they just throw their hands in the air and think: ‘there has to be something better out there than this’.
“They have to get through those six years – and they are tough.”
According to Ms Kiejda, other factors include an ageing population and the need to upskill existing nursing professionals.
She said she believes that the current system is unsustainable.
Shadow Minister for Health Jillian Skinner said the figures made a mockery of the State Government’s changes to nurse training. According to Ms Skinner, the changes mean Enrolled Nursing Trainees will no longer be able to earn a wage whilst undertaking on-the-job training.
“Anyone wishing to become an Enrolled Nurse will now have to pay around $10,000 to do a year’s vocational course before being able to work in a hospital,” she said.
“This will have a dramatic impact on hospitals in South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service.”
Comment count: 1
So much for my daughter being able to do all she has wanted to do since starting year 7 at High School, nursing. We are in no position to outlay $10,000.00 to get her through her first year as I battle through life on a disabled pension. I spent time in hospital not long ago and I can go along with the girls being thrown in the deep end, I would have a nurse care for me in the ward and she was run off her feet until the end of her shift. I would dose off to sleep and wake up in 4 or 5 hours and here is this same girl back again, I would ask why she is back so soon and she would inform me that this happened all the time, the call it a quick shift. Over 7 weeks in hospital I seen this happen time and time again, one day we even had the ICU nurses down looking after us because there was absolutely no one available. On a large number of times my wife helped me shower and done the dressings on my wounds because the same one's would stay more than a day if she did not change them. The nurses did come and check before she dressed them again but you could see by this how bad things were. I can honestly say that our floors and dressers etc went over a week without being dusted or swept and they wonder why there is infections. Now we have kids that want to nurse and can't because of the BS fee's. Its a sad old system. Shame on all invovled in the state of affairs things are in at the moment. Bet you did not miss your last big fat pay rise or massive super contribution. Shame, shame, shame