The region's nurses and midwives have turned to television to plead their case for better conditions.
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"This is a very important campaign for nurses and patients at regional hospitals across NSW, including at the Shellharbour Hospital," Ms Watson said.
"The nurses have my total support for this campaign.
"The advertisement by the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association is a very powerful message, which I hope the NSW government will start to listen to.
"Nurses are simply asking for a fair go. They are seeking to protect patient safety.
"The NSW government should finalise the negotiations with the nurses and implement better patient-to-nurse ratios bringing all hospitals into line."
Ms Watson is pushing for the government to invest up to $250 million in an upgrade to Shellharbour Hospital.
"We need to ensure every support is provided to our local nurses," she said. "They care for us and it's time we cared for them."
Union general secretary Brett Holmes said the government must ensure every public patient in NSW, including in regional areas such as the Illawarra and South Coast, had access to the same level of safer care.
"There is no doubt mandated minimum staffing arrangements to protect safe staffing levels," he said.
"Staffing levels can be assessed against a mandated minimum requirement, which means we can act decisively when governments and hospital managers try to undermine safe staffing just to save a bit of money," he said.
A record 214 union branches, representing more than 30,000 public sector nurses and midwives in NSW, have endorsed the ratios and wages claim.
