The NSW nurses' union has lodged a court case against the state government for breaching patient care awards, due to understaffing.
The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) has prepared a statement of claim for the Supreme Court for what it says is systemic non-compliance with staffing ratios state-wide, including at major hospitals such as Concord, Royal Prince Alfred, Westmead, Liverpool, Nepean, Wollongong and Gosford.
The union claims the court action is a last resort, because, despite multiple non-compliance disputes in the Industrial Relations Commission, the non-compliance continues.
The court case could lead to financial penalties for the state if it is found to have contravened public health awards.
The union states patients at a number of major hospitals have recently missed out on 120,000 hours of nursing care due to 'systemic understaffing.'
The claim details 1,484 contraventions across 10 hospitals over "recent months and years".
The case, which cites data obtained from a Government Information Public Access (GIPA) application, claims Gosford Hospital on the Central Coast is the worst for staffing breaches, with 777 award contraventions between 2018 and 2022.
The union claims a further nine metropolitan and regional hospitals did not provide adequate staff per shift on more than 700 occasions, from July to October last year, resulting in substandard care.
Other recent contraventions cited include 155 at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, 107 at Concord Hospital, and 99 at Westmead.
Union general secretary Shaye Candish said the contraventions filed with the court are a conservative estimate.
"The NSW government's preferred staffing model is no longer fit for purpose and, despite the best efforts of nurses working short-staffed, it is not delivering a safe level of care to patients when they need it most," Ms Candish said.
"We are talking about hundreds of thousands of nursing care hours not provided on general medical and surgical wards, meaning patients may have missed timely care, such as blood pressure checks, wound care, or showers due to inadequate or unsafe staffing.
"Delays in clinical care can lead to suboptimal patient outcomes such as increased falls risks, hospital acquired infections like pneumonia, pressure area sores, and blood clots."
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said nurses were aware of the challenges the pandemic created.
"I'm very sympathetic and I think everyone is, but at the end of the day the union shouldn't be using this ... to argue basically something that is attacking the government when they know damn well that the opposition is not planning on giving them ratios," he said.
"The current ratio system is nursing hours per patient day, and that system was put in place by the Labor government with the agreement of the union who is now arguing against them."
The union has been lobbying for nurse-to-patient ratios ahead of the state election, with ongoing industrial action.
It says NSW is dragging behind other states in legally mandated staff ratios, which have already been introduced in the ACT, Queensland and Victoria.
The statement of claim has this morning been lodged in the NSW Supreme Court and served on the Crown Solicitor.
The case is listed for May.
