Illawarra nurses will join a state-wide strike this week amid ongoing concerns about "dangerous" staffing levels.
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Thousands of nurses have voted to walk-out for 24 hours from 7am on November 23, leaving a skeleton staff in all public hospitals and health services.
Rallies will be held around the state, with the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association saying their calls for safer staffing levels, as well as better pay and working conditions were being ignored.
"Since our first statewide strike on 15 February, nurses and midwives have gone above and beyond to put patient care ahead of their own basic needs," the union's general secretary Shaye Candish said.
"Shift after shift they have continued, burdened by short staffing and constant requests for overtime.
"At the end of March, we held a second statewide strike after the NSW government failed to engage in meaningful talks about shift by shift nurse-to-patient ratios to ensure safe patient care.
"Following our third statewide strike on September 1, NSW Labor announced its Safe Staffing policy, a commitment that will see improvements in emergency departments, ICUs, maternity services and Multipurpose Services, and the introduction of shift by shift staffing levels in most wards and units.
"This finally prompted talks with the NSW government however, it is now mid-November and no real solutions have been offered to address the health staffing or workload crisis."
Last week, the Greens NSW health spokesperson Cate Faehrmann introduced a bill to legislate nurse and midwife-to-patient ratios, which she said would mandate safe levels of staffing in public hospital emergency departments and wards across the state.
Her bill developed in consultation undertaken with the union, she said.
"Nurses and midwives are at breaking point," Ms Faehrmann said.
"If we don't implement nurse-to-patient ratios we will see a mass exodus from our health system.
"Chronic understaffing is dangerous for patients and it's dangerous for nurses and midwives. The Greens will do what the other parties won't and move to legislate ratios."
The Greens' bill proposes nurse-to-patient ratios be legislated at 1:4 during day shifts and 1:7 on night shifts across general public hospital wards, and 1:3 for emergency departments and 1:1 in intensive care.
During the 24-hour strike, the union says life-preserving services will be maintained in all public hospitals and health services.
The union also said it would continue meeting with the NSW government to discuss members' demands.