On behalf of the Byron Central Hospital branch of the NSW Nurses & Midwives Association, I would like to thank Mandy Nolan for her astute commentary regarding the current parlous state of nursing and midwifery in NSW in her Soapbox (July 31), and also the Echo’s coverage of the Tweed rally on page 6.
As has been rightly stated, we are haemorrhaging staff over our borders, both north and south, due to the gross disparities in pay and conditions. For example, in Queensland, a new graduate is $12K or 18 per cent better off compared to a first-year NSW nurse/midwife. The NSW government does not support our claim for a 15 per cent wage increase to provide parity with other states, saying they can’t afford it.
The question is, can they afford not to? The government has also been very slow to implement the safe staffing levels they promised to deliver at the last state elections – currently only four emergency departments have seen the necessary staffing increases, and commensurate increases to ward staffing are nowhere near commencement.
We ask you to support our actions, knowing that we need both the pay increase to retain staff in our public health system, and increased staffing levels to deliver optimal, safe care in our communities.
Elizabeth McCall, Byron Central Hospital NSWNMA
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
