Nursing safety !

This morning there are thirty-one fewer operational beds at Wollongong hospital. The beds are still there. No patients are in them because the nurses have declared them " out of service " until the government agrees to a ratio of four patients for each nursing position.

This ratio has been achieved in some other states and the only thing delaying it here - is cost ! The government is fighting a delaying action to prevent a blowout in hospital costs - and as a result patient safety is being compromised because of unreasonable staff workloads.

Few of the people who fully understand medicine and nursing would disagree that more than four patients under the care of each nurse decreases the standard of care - and in many cases leads to mistakes that affect safety.

From a tactical point of view this action by nurses is brilliant. The refusal to allocate beds deemed " out of service " achieves the four to one ratio they demand and at the same time it keeps the hospital running normally without the debilitating chaos of normal strike action.

Should a critical accident put sudden pressure on the hospital admission system, the beds are there and waiting - and the decision to keep beds closed can be reversed in an instant.

Perhaps a rational nurse/patient ratio can not be met immediately, but at least the present situation will lead to talks - and some sort of compromise. Without such action the government would continue to stall indefinitely.

The timing could not be better. On the eve of a critical state election, nursing safety standards are at the forefront of the issues considered by the voters.