New Maitland Hospital nurses meet with Shadow Health Minister Ryan Park and Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison

They say they know how to fix it, but nobody's listening, and that's a worry when the wards are full, patients are being stuck in the Emergency Department (ED) for two days waiting for a bed and the ED is the worst in the state for patients leaving without treatment from a doctor.

The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association's Maitland Branch want a 1:4 nurse-to-patient ratio in every part of the hospital, which would be legislated.

Labor is offering a safe staffing plan on a shift-by-shift basis, which would be included in the award.

Minimum staffing levels of 1 nurse to 3 patients in emergency and 1:4 in the general ward would be rolled out within six months - if the party gained government - Shadow Health Minister Ryan Park said.

Meanwhile, the Coalition hasn't made any election promises to alleviate the nurses' concerns and hasn't met with them. But, the party is promising free parking if re-elected.

Regional Health Minister Bronnie Taylor said public hospitals in NSW "have been recognised as the best in the country on performance in emergency departments" and Maitland Hospital was fully funded to meet the needs of the community.

She pointed out that it was the Coalition that delivered the new hospital, something Labor failed to do.

Branch secretary Monique Murray said the Coalition should put a plan on the table to fix the staffing woes and the community deserved better than a brand new hospital without adequate staff to care for patients. She said Labor's promise didn't go far enough.

"They want to know what we need in the health care system so why don't you ask the people who work in the health care system, and when we tell you the answer, why don't you just back us?," Ms Murray said.

Mr Park and Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison met with branch members outside the hospital on Wednesday and explained how their staffing plan would provide better patient care within six months.

Mr Park said their plan was "very close" to what the nurses wanted.

In other news:

Labor would employ an extra 1200 nurses across NSW within 4 years to make their plan possible - a figure Mr Park said the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association asked for.

Neither Ms Aitchison or Mr Park could say how many Maitland would get but Ms Aitchison did say the city would "get its fair share of that extra staffing" and Labor would work on it "methodically, consistently and fairly".

When asked whether Labor had data to show what was needed to bring the hospital up to an ideal standard she called for a "reality check".

"Every time we make an announcement ... I just keep hearing oh why are you going to do this and that. What is the government offering here? They've done nothing, they can't fix it," she said.

"You're asking for a level of detail that I doubt you could have even got from Brad Hazard and you certainly wouldn't get it from Bronnie Taylor.

Related: Nurses plea for more staff, more beds

"If what we have isn't enough I will keep working because I want our community to be safe, to be healthy."

Mr Park said the opposition wasn't privy to hospital documents but if elected he would look into the situation thoroughly.

Mr Park said Maitland Hospital was "pretty high" on his priority list and the safe staffing would eventually be rolled out to other wards.

"We hope to get to all of them but we haven't put a timeline on it," he said.

"We need to change the way we roster hospitals and we need to do it in a sustainable way ... There's enough graduates at the moment coming through to do it."