Nurses and midwives are ramping up their pre-election campaign to install staff-to-patient ratios in NSW public hospitals, with a series of TV ads.
After four statewide strikes last year, the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association says it is targeting candidates of all political stripes to back shift-by-shift ratios amid chronic understaffing.
Association general secretary Shaye Candish said the ad campaign, which urges people to "vote like your life depends on it, because one day it might", puts health and wellbeing front of mind for voters.
"We have lost far too many experienced nurses and midwives because NSW is the last mainland state yet to commit to nurse and midwife to patient ratios," she said on Sunday.
"It's beyond abhorrent, it's shameful. NSW should be leaders in this space but instead we are being left behind."
Ms Candish said following talks with nurses and midwives across NSW, it was apparent they are fatigued and burnt out, feeling stressed and constantly worried they are letting their patients down.
"Nurses and midwives are being overworked, meaning they are responsible for too many patients and can't safely care for our communities the way they were professionally trained, and our public health system is buckling under the pressure as a result," she said.
"Patients are being forced to wait too long to receive treatment in hospitals and this is having a ripple effect through the public health system."
She said there was growing peer-reviewed evidence to show safe staffing ratios saved lives, improved patient health outcomes and saved governments money.
The new TV ads air from Sunday, while the association has also launched a community website as part of its campaign at ratios4nsw.com.au
It comes after Premier Dominic Perrottet joined state and territory leaders on Friday in a push to review the country's Medicare system, acknowledging hospitals around the country were under pressure.
Increasing federal funding was not necessarily the key to improving Medicare, he said.
"Let's put patients at the centre of that system, integrate the networks in a better and more efficient way and then work out the funding arrangements off the back of it."
NSW Labor says it will mandate minimum safe staffing levels at public hospitals if it can win the upcoming election on March 25.
The mandates will first be rolled out in emergency departments.
The party has also committed to returning 600 beds to western Sydney hospitals and hiring 500 new paramedics for regional areas.
