A theatre nurse working double shifts in the surgical ward to fill shortages was just one example of workload stress given during at the Launceston General Hospital on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Nurses and midwives gathered for the 15-minute strike to call for better workloads and safe staffing, holding placards reading "Retain. Recruit. Recognise".
LGH operating room suite registered nurse Kylie Stubbs said it was demoralising to work in the Tasmanian health service right now.
"I personally would be fearful for one of my loved ones to come into this hospital, not because nurses are not competent, but because they just cannot do the work that they're employed to do because they are short staffed," Ms Stubbs said.
Ms Stubbs had been called on to work in the surgical ward, despite not having worked in wards for years.
Ms Stubbs said nurses were "leaving in droves", moving into unqualified professions where patients' lives weren't in their hands.
She said she wanted the government to offer pay parity with mainland states and greater resources.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff announced proposals for nurses on Wednesday.
The proposals including a COVID-19 allowance for hospital staff in recognition of increased workloads, due to be paid in coming weeks.
Australian Midwife and Nursing Federation Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd said the government's offer showed it had listened to their concerns.
Ms Shepherd said members would take time to digest it before responding to the Premier.
"Certainly there is a degree of opportunity. But certainly, there's also some gaps that members feel are missing, and that is obviously around the retention and recognition of existing nursing and with recruitment," Ms Shepherd said.
Ms Shepherd said members' preliminary feedback was there needed to be acknowledgement of the nurses and midwives "who worked incredibly hard over the last few years", and measures to encourage staff to stay in the profession.
The AMNF has another strike scheduled for the Mersey Community Hospital at Latrobe next week, but Ms Shepherd said members would consider cancelling it if members felt the government's proposals addressed their key concerns.
Mr Rockliff thanked nurses and midwives for working under challenging and arduous conditions, particularly over the last two years.
"I have immense gratitude for our workers - they are our health system's greatest asset," he said.
"We are seeing unprecedented levels of demand in our hospitals and this is putting enormous pressure on our frontline staff, including our nurses."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
Follow us on Google News: The Examiner