Mental health nurses set to refuse patients
Posted
Nurses working in the mental health unit at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital have voted to begin work bans from midday today.
The New South Wales Nurses' Association says nurses will refuse to admit patients if there are no beds available.
The association's general secretary, Brett Holmes, says there is so much pressure on the unit that up to eight patients a night are taking up beds in the emergency department, while other are sleeping on the floor.
"Our members at the Prince of Wales mental health service believe that it's unsafe and inappropriate to continue to place more patients in our mental health than there are beds to hold them or services available,' he said.
NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell says nurses should not have to resort to industrial action to get the Government to make mental health a priority.
"It's simply appalling that nurses have to resort to work bans to try to get the Iemma Government to act on mental health bed shortages, [which are] forcing patients to sleep on couches or on the floor at a major Sydney hospital like Prince of Wales," he said.
Mr O'Farrell says the Government must provide more beds.
"When Morris Iemma became Premier he said that mental health was one of his key priority areas," he said.
"Here we are three years later and nurses are having to resort to industrial action at a major Sydney hospital to get their message through that there aren't enough hospital beds."
