Illawarra hospital bosses have been on a jobs blitz this summer, spruiking the region's "healthy work-life balance" to attract new workers to the understaffed health system.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But nurses and midwives say new workers are failing to make a dent in their ever increasing workload, reporting that conditions inside the hospitals are continuing to deteriorate.
In the first couple of days of 2023, the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District's social media advertising campaign was trying to entice people to take up a new job in the new year, pointing to the long list of roles available within the district.
As of mid-January, there were 81 jobs advertised at the local health district, including open "expressions of interest" positions for registered and enrolled nurses, and registered midwives.
There are also jobs - including permanent, temporary and casual positions - for nurse managers, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, switchboard operators, and administration, cleaning and security staff.
The health district would not provide the number of current job vacancies, however, the nurses union said unfilled positions for nurses and midwives remained well above 100.
The idea of work-life balance sounds nice, but if you're a nurse in NSW you can see right through that.
- NSWNMA representative Bianca Vergouw
Wollongong Hospital NSWNMA branch president Bianca Vergouw said the latest month-by-month data provided to nurses showed their were 165 full time equivalent vacancies for nurses and midwives in October.
The November data showed this had dropped to 121, indicating 44 new full time equivalent staff had been employed.
"The district seems to be making a really big effort to recruit staff which is fantastic, but there is a workforce shortage worldwide, not just in NSW or in the Illawarra," she said.
"Most of our workers were quite surprised to hear 44 full time [nursing] positions had been filled because they are just not feeling it on the floor.
"People are still being expected to work overtime, extra shifts and shifts are always working short."
She said the hospital's reasonable workload committee figures showed that "most of the wards, most of the time" were not meeting the health department's own "nursing hours per patient day" staffing system.
"I'd like to think [the health district's job ad blitz] will help, but the reality is that until conditions change and we get better staff ratios and improved pay, there is not going to be an incentive to work full time," she said.
"The idea of work-life balance sounds nice, but if you're a nurse in NSW you can see right through that.
"The Illawarra is an absolutely beautiful place to live - so that's an enticement - but when it comes to working conditions, I have spoken to people who have moved to NSW from Queensland and they are shocked by the conditions we work under."
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District Acting Chief Executive, Margaret Martin said the district had "recently ramped up its recruitment efforts with a range of social media and advertising campaigns to assist with attracting new staff".
"The additional staff will provide much needed support for our workforce, which has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic for the past three years," she said.
She said the district had increased the number of available graduate nurse and midwife positions by almost 30 per cent this year, as part of a strategy to ensure a sustainable workforce.
"The total number of GradStart positions has increased from 127 last year to 164 this year," she said.
"The majority of these new positions will commence with the District in February and the remaining are scheduled to start in May."
She said the health district was constantly reviewing and exploring new recruitment strategies as well as developing a number of programs aimed at fostering and growing the capacity of our workforce.
It was looking locally, nationally and internationally for nurses, doctors and other health staff, she said.
"In encouraging people to take up positions within the District, we proudly promote our organisation and the local region and provide support mechanisms to ensure out of area staff feel welcome and make a smooth transition."
For some of the vacant positions, the district is offering up to $10,000 in extra incentives to get staff into "hard-to-fill and critical roles at our Shoalhaven and Milton Ulladulla Hospitals".
"The incentives offered are based on the position and its location and can include a range of financial and non-financial benefits, such as support with travel, professional development and computer/internet costs through to additional salary and personal leave over and above award entitlements," Ms Martin said.