Illawarra nurses join Sydney colleagues during 24-hour strike

The NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association says the NSW government has failed to offer any real solutions to nurses' concerns about nurse-to-patient ratios, staffing levels and workloads.

Nurses from across the state walked off the job at 7am on Wednesday and won't return until 7am on Thursday, although the union says life-preserving services will be maintained in all public hospitals and health services.

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It is the fourth 24-hour strike this year.

"The reason we're striking today is because the Liberal Party won't come to the table," secretary of the union's Wollongong Hospital branch, Genevieve Stone, said.

Miss Stone noted the Greens had introduced a bill to parliament - which if passed would legislate nurse and midwife-to-patient ratios - and Labor had promised that if it were elected to form government, it would provide an extra 1200 nurses.

She said Wollongong Hospital was short-staffed by about 160 nurses and this figure was growing at a rate of 10 nurses every month.

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The main wards of concern were maternity, the emergency department and the intensive care unit.

"It's horrendous," she said.

But speaking from the rally on Wednesday morning, Miss Stone said the atmosphere was one of hope for the future.

She said a substantial contingent of nurses from Wollongong and Shellharbour had travelled to Sydney to rally with their city counterparts.

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