Nurse Campaign

Independent candidate for the state seat of Wagga Wagga, Dr Joe McGirr, welcomed the news that the government has put forward an offer to negotiate with nurses over their current campaign.
However Dr McGirr believes the key to resolving the crisis may be in getting the right mix of skilled nurses in our hospitals.
“Nurses have campaigned on getting a ratio of one nurse to four patients,” Dr McGirr said.
“I know that registered nurses are also very concerned about the effect on patient care of reducing the number of registered nurses and replacing them with assistants in nursing,” Dr Joe McGirr.
“This undermines patient care and erodes the standing of the profession.”
While not aware of details of the current offer, Dr McGirr believes a way forward in the current crisis may be for the government to give guarantees on the professional role of registered nurses as a way of meeting the concerns of the profession.
“Registered nurses are the leaders in their field. We need to get their numbers right to get patient care right,” Dr McGirr said.