Nurses and midwives will again walk off the job next week after voting in favour of a 24-hour stoppage, the union says.
More than 160 branches of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) agreed to the strike — the second in six weeks — with members set to hold public rallies on Thursday, March 31.
"They have overwhelmingly all voted in favour of taking some form of industrial action, with most of them voting for the 24-hour stoppage," union general secretary Brett Holmes said.
He said it was about sending another strong message to the government, the Premier and the Health Minister over their failure to fix the staffing crisis in public hospitals.
"They want action on the implementation of, shift by shift, nurse to patient ratios.
"The nurses want to hear that the government has a plan for the future that guarantees them that, on every shift, that there will be enough nurses and midwives to look after their patients in our health system.
"Without that guarantee, there can be no solution to this problem."
Similar to last month's walk-out, Thursday's strike has not been sanctioned by the state's Industrial Relations Commission.
"The Industrial Relations Commission has again acted for the Ministry of Health in placing orders and directions against the Nurses and Midwives Association and our members," Mr Holmes said.
"Unfortunately, they can't fix this problem. It's a problem that can only be fixed by the NSW government."
It comes after reports in Nine newspapers that a staffing crisis at Bourke Hospital had prompted an "internal emergency".
Mr Holmes said it was another example of the unsustainable situation faced by many healthcare workers.
"We cannot get enough nurses and midwives to go to Western NSW and there needs to be some improvements in the incentives to go work and live in those areas."
Two years of the COVID-19 pandemic has made matters worse, according to Mr Holmes, with many nurses ready to leave the sector.
The issue of pay and conditions in public hospitals came to a head last month when thousands of nurses and midwives marched through the streets of Sydney's CBD.
Regional staff also took part in rallies. Union members in Orange marched up the main road, while those on the south coast gathered in Bega's Littleton Gardens.
The protests — the first in a decade — were in response to a stalemate in negotiations between the government and the NSWNMA.
Days after the rally, union representatives met with Premier Dominic Perrottet, on February 21.
However, they say, they have not received any offer from the government in response to their demands since that meeting.
"In the past five weeks, there have been multiple 'code yellow' incidents across the state, which signals an internal staffing emergency inside a health facility," Mr Holmes said.
"These are becoming more frequent across metropolitan and regional sites because of staffing issues.
"Our members are scathing of the government's unwillingness to continue an open dialogue with us about their claim for, shift by shift, nurse-to-patient ratios, improved maternity staffing and a modest pay rise."
The union said life-preserving services would be maintained in all public hospitals and health services during the strike.
NSW Health has been contacted for comment.
