DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇺 Australia /Health & Science

NT Health issues urgent call-out for dozens more hospital workers

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Northern Territory Health is urgently seeking nearly 60 qualified health workers.
  • Frontline staff at Darwin and Palmerston hospitals are under immense pressure.
  • The hospitals have been in a code yellow status since July 31 due to high patient demand.

Northern Territory Health is issuing an urgent call for almost 60 qualified health professionals to alleviate the immense pressure on frontline staff at Darwin and Palmerston hospitals. The department's acting chief executive, Susan Bowden, sent a sector-wide email seeking expressions of interest from nurses, midwives, and pharmacists for up to two weeks of duties.

Reducing the pressure on RDH and PRH and providing our staff with respite is my number one priority. As such, I'm calling on those who can help out to do so where possible.

— Susan Bowden, NT Health acting chief executiveExplaining the urgent need for additional health workers.

Both Royal Darwin Hospital and Palmerston Regional Hospital have been operating under a code yellow since July 31. This status is declared when extraordinary patient demand necessitates the implementation of emergency procedures. This marks the sixth code yellow at these hospitals since the beginning of the year, highlighting a persistent strain on resources.

Bowden emphasized that reducing pressure and providing respite for staff is the "number one priority." The department aims to redeploy up to 57 workers, including 20 emergency nurses, from other areas within the health sector to the hospital floors. The current code yellow at Royal Darwin Hospital has been in effect for over two weeks, with the department exploring measures like the potential early opening of a new 32-bed ward.

In ED [the emergency department] we've seen high-level nurses being on the floor I think most of the year.

— Heidi Crisp, ANMF NT branch secretaryDescribing the prolonged strain on emergency department staff.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) NT branch secretary, Heidi Crisp, described the current situation as the "worst one we've ever had." While welcoming the call for surge workers, Crisp warned it could create shortfalls in other departments. She noted that high-level nurses have been working on the floor for most of the year, and redeploying them could disrupt essential background tasks, impacting the overall system. Crisp also stated that NT Health members voted down the government's latest enterprise bargaining offer, emphasizing the need for improved pay and conditions to address long-term understaffing.

They just want the public to know how desperate times are.

— Heidi Crisp, ANMF NT branch secretaryConveying the severity of the staffing crisis from the perspective of frontline nurses.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog