From Kogarah to Sydney's CBD, these faces will join a major rally outside Parliament House on Thursday, March 31, in their battle for better work conditions in public hospitals.
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They will join thousands of nurses and midwives who will strike across NSW, with many walking off the job for 24 hours from 7am.
NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) branch members will hold more than 20 public rallies as part of their statewide actions, to call for nurse-to-patient ratios and improved maternity staffing on every shift.
NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes, said there were growing patient safety concerns raised by frontline health staff.
"More than 180 branches voted in favour of statewide strike action over the past two weeks, and over 160 of those will be participating in a 24-hour strike or work bans, leaving behind staff to provide life-preserving care," he said.
"Despite their pleas for more support from the government, nurses and midwives are extremely fatigued from working double shifts and increased amounts of overtime, because of the growing gaps in staffing rosters."
The NSWNMA stated it had no offer from the government since meeting with the NSW Premier on February 21.
A new NSWNMA Branch has been formed at St George Hospital.
Branch delegate and union member Kim Walker said it was time to act.
"It's been about five years since there has been an active branch at St George. As a result of the current state of affairs in the health system, the staff have rallied together to form a branch to help us get involved in the current industrial action plan," she said.
In the past two years the pandemic has highlighted just how challenging the workload can be for nurses.
- NSWNMA branch delegate and union member, Kim Walker
Having working in intensive care for more than 17 years, Ms Walker said she had seen lots of changes in that time, particularly in the shifting roles of nurses.
"In the past two years the pandemic has highlighted just how challenging the workload can be for nurses. We are looking after patients who are sicker, with more complex issues and need increasing levels of care," she said.
"All of this is happening in the context of stretching resources and working conditions that haven't kept up with this increasing demand. The resources within the hospitals in NSW are being stretched further."
She said nurses were leaving the workforce at "higher rates than normal".
"It's easy to see why when some nurses are put under immense pressure during their day to care for the sick in what is often less than ideal working conditions," she said.
"Nurses find themselves putting patient safety over their own meal break time, toilet breaks and own general well being as they volunteer to work overtime shifts to ensure their colleagues aren't put under any more pressure then they already are."
Ms Walker said they had no other choice but to work together and help create change within the system.
"We want to ensure that nursing is a desirable profession to ensure high quality care can be maintained into the future," she said.
She said union members were working with hospital administration to ensure that safe staffing levels were maintained during the strike, but that some services may be limited.
