New Maitland Hospital staff will walk out in disgust amid 'horrendous' conditions they say have pushed them to breaking point.
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The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Maitland Branch members will gather on the lawn outside the Metford Road hospital on Thursday morning at 8am in a bid to have their voices heard.
Maitland Branch delegate Monique Murray said the chronic staffing shortage had put excessive pressure on nurses and midwives and 18 hour shifts had become the norm.
The Mercury contacted Hunter New England Health for comment. It had not responded at the time of writing this article.
Ms Murray said their calls were falling on deaf ears and they had been forced to take matters into their own hands to be heard.
When asked to describe the working conditions, she said they were "horrendous".
"The staff have had enough and this is just one of many attempts to be heard," she said.
"We need staffing, we need ratios, we need to make sure that we have safe numbers on the floor."
Staff can participate in the walk out if they are on a meal break, have finished their shift or on their day off.
Usual staffing levels are expected to be maintained at the hospital during the walk out.
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Belinda-Jane Davis
Passionate about community news
Passionate about community news
