NSW public hospitals face a mass exodus of senior nurses suffering trauma and burnout from overwhelming workloads, leaving younger, less experienced nurses outnumbered and at greater risk of abuse from frustrated patients, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
A survey of more than 2300 NSW nurses working in public hospitals – most with more than a decade of experience – found nurses had borne the brunt of the overwhelming pressure on the state’s healthcare system, with more than half planning to resign.
The report, commissioned by the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA), found 15 in every 100 nurses and midwives report having high levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms that would meet the criteria of PTSD.
The report comes as the healthcare workforce shapes up to be a key battleground across both the major parties’ health portfolios in the lead-up to the state election, with Labor promising to enforce safe nurse-to-patient ratios, and the Perrottet government committing to boost the number of nurses, doctors and allied healthcare workers across the state.
NSWNMA assistant general secretary Michael Whaites said that under current working conditions, patient care was being compromised.
“That is taking a significant toll on nurses and midwives because, as trained clinicians, they want to be giving the best possible care,” Whaites said.
“As the state’s largest health workforce employer, we’re calling the government to abandon its individual, resilience-focused approach, to take responsibility and act,” he said.
When 1879 nurses were asked if they intended to leave their current position in the next five years, 58 per cent said yes, the report showed.
One in three of these nurses said they planned to resign within 12 months (37 per cent), and one in five intended to leave the healthcare sector altogether. Another two in five nurses who wanted to resign hadn’t decided whether they would leave the profession.
The report was conducted by the Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre – a partnership between the University of South Australia, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Rosemary Bryant Foundation.
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‘I don’t want to come back’: PTSD, burnout driving nurses out of hospitals (Sydney Morning Herald)
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