Nursing staff and patients of Wee Waa Hospital have suffered as a result of professional medical shortages.
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Fed up with delays as a result of medical staff shortages, members of Wee Waa Community Hospital Branch of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association raised their concerns directly with Hunter New England Local Health District and management.
Acting general secretary of the NSWNMA, Judith Kiejda, said fortunately local nurses’ concerns had been heard and improvements at the hospital were imminent.
“For a number of weeks, doctor shortages at Wee Waa hospital have created flow-on implications for hard-working nursing staff and the delivery of safe patient care to the local community,” Ms Kiejda said.
Members were forced to deal with the implications firsthand and have spoken out on behalf of the community calling for the underlying issues to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
“Hospital management and Hunter New England Local Health District have a duty of care to maintain a high standard of patient safety, as well as access to adequate medical coverage within this vital health service.
“Fortunately, management has since sat down with local nurses and agreed to a number of measures aimed at mitigating the issues and will also implement steps to help prevent a occurrence.”