Illawarra Greens hopefuls met outside Wollongong Hospital on Monday to spruik the party's promise to give nurses and midwives the pay and staffing support they've been campaigning for.
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Keira candidate Kit Docker and Wollongong candidate Cath Blakey were joined by one of the party's NSW Upper House candidates, Dr Amanda Cohn.
The Albury GP said she is hoping the party can gain more seats in both houses of state parliament to influence whichever party gains power in the March election.
"The more Greens we have in both houses of parliament, the more opportunity we have to push the next government to go further actually deliver the safe nurse to patient ratios that the nurses union is demanding," Dr Cohn said.
"We have an opportunity at the next election to have enough Greens in parliament to make that happen."
She noted Greens MP Cate Faehrmann has introduced a bill in the last term of parliament to mandate safe staffing levels, but that this was voted down by both major parties.
Last week, the Greens announced they wanted to give healthcare workers an immediate 15 per cent pay rise - if elected - and said they would commit to the ratios set out by the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association.
Over the past year, nurses have been on strike several times to call for mandated staffing levels of one nurse to four patients in most wards, and one nurse to three patients in the emergency department.
NSW Labor last year committed to scrapping the current rostering system and putting in place enforceable, shift by shift safe staffing levels in hospitals, but stopped short of agreeing to these specific ratios.
Labor also committed to an extra 1200 nurses and midwives, in addition to the state government's additional recruits outlined in the June budget.
While Dr Cohn is visiting Wollongong she will lead a public forum on the region's health care system, which will be held on Tuesday night in Fairy Meadow.
She said there would be further health announcements from the environmental party later this week.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
