As recently as June, over 40 nurses rallied outside the hospital alongside community members for one nurse to every three patients in emergency and one nurse to every four patients in medical and surgical wards.

RELATED || Nurses rally for better staff ratios

Currently, NSW nurses are some of the lowest paid in Australia, making it hard to attract good workers and maintain high staffing levels, especially in regional communities such as Griffith.

NSWNMA Branch Secretary Kristy Wilson said that ratios were 'key' to ensuring patients were given the highest quality of care possible.

"More nurses on the floor means we can give our patients the care that they deserve" Mrs Wilson said

"Queensland and Victoria have had these ratios in place for years, I cannot emphasise how desperately we need them in NSW."

According to Mrs Wilson, the Red for Ratios activities at the hospital have been very successful, with members of all of the departments getting involved in some way shape or form.

"The pandemic really has highlighted how important nurses are and how urgent it is that our nurses are supported on the wards" Mrs Wilson said.

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In light of this, the NSW Industry Relations Commission (IRC) approved the state government's 2.04% pay offer for public sector nurses and midwives last week, and varied their state award with back pay from 1 July 2021.

However NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said that whilst this pay rise was a step forward, it was shameful that the state government refused to consider any staffing improvements in public hospitals.

"The IRC heard the Ministry of Health's application on the 2.04% pay increase but refused to acknowledge the chronic understaffing or patient safety issues consistently raised by our members," said Mr Holmes.

"The excessive workloads and volume of overtime being forced upon or expected of nurses and midwives statewide is out of control. These concerns are widespread and there's currently no reprieve in sight.

The government unashamedly insists there is no staffing crisis in NSW public hospitals, yet the evidence is abundantly clear."

According to Mrs Wilson, whilst the pay rise was a step in the right direction, it was important that ratios were kept in the spotlight.

"We want to keep the need for ratios in the spotlight, we don't want the government thinking they can buy us off for a bit more money" Mrs Wilson said.

"Wearing Red for Ratios shows the government that we are not forgetting about this, you can't silence us and push this discussion to the side."

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