Hunter New England health district to lose most nursing positions in NSW in government funding cuts

It can now be revealed the Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) is set to lose 138.2 full-time equivalent temporary nursing positions when state government funding is slashed in a year.

A Hunter New England hospital worker, unauthorised to speak to media, said she was shocked at news of the development, and told ACM the fact that so many roles were on the chopping block was "very concerning".

Michael Whaites, assistant general secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association, said it was crucial the Minns' government secures the temporary nursing positions beyond the next 12 months.

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"We simply cannot afford the loss of a single nurse or midwife from our public hospitals, let alone 138 from across the Hunter and New England," he said.

"Our members are still dealing with COVID-19 and its effect in their hospitals, as well as demand to catch up on the backlog of elective surgeries.

"Many hospitals across the region are still struggling to fill nursing and midwifery vacancies and using overtime to plug staffing shortfalls."

Mr Whaites called on the state government to fully implement its safe staffing commitment.

"This should not be at the cost of funding other health services," he said.

The previous government declared funding would run dry for more than 1100 temporary full-time equivalent nursing positions across NSW at the end of June, 2024.

Freshly released numbers from the office of NSW health minister Ryan Park now show the HNELHD will bear the biggest brunt of any health district in the state, followed by South Western Sydney, which is set to lose 119.5 positions.

Mr Park slammed the cuts in a passionate speech to parliament.

He declared the decision as one of the most "shameful acts of public administration".

"Unfortunately when we got to government, we found, I think, one of the most despicable acts that I have ever, ever witnessed," he said.

He said hospitals would lose the positions at a time when frontline healthcare workers had just guided the country through the global pandemic.

Mr Park said he was concerned the blow to health systems like HNELHD, which covers an area from Belmont to Moree, would disproportionately affect regional areas where staff were already stretched thin.

A NSW Health spokesperson did not respond to the ACM's questions about which hospitals in the HNELHD would shoulder the burden of the cuts come June next year, or about how patient care would be affected.

The current NSW government is scrambling to find the funding to keep the nurses on, and the NSW Health spokesperson confirmed negotiations were continuing.

The spokesperson said NSW Health was committed to increasing its focus on recruitment to its permanent workforce to meet the increasing demand for healthcare.

The breakdown of the numbers by health districts comes at a time nurses, midwives and hospital staff in the HNELHD have been urgently calling for staff-to-patient ratios and better pay through strikes and industrial action.

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