FOUR YEARS LATER… SHE SAYS THE HOSPITAL CRISIS HAS ONLY BECOME MORE FRIGHTENING..! – NURSE SOBS AS SHE DELIVERS A POWERFUL WARNING ABOUT AUSTRALIA’S HEALTH SYSTEM.
‘Shame on you’: Nurse sobs over state of hospitals four years after walking off the job
A nurse who walked off the job in protest has issued a terrifying warning through tears over the dire state of Australia’s hospitals.
Amy Halvorsen made nationwide headlines when she very publicly walked off the job at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital four years ago.
Nurses everywhere were doing double shifts and being told to stay at work despite being Covid-19 close contacts, with Ms Halvorsen’s ward operating at one-third its usual staffing level.
At the time, she thought the “chaotic and dangerous” conditions facing nurses could not get worse.
“Shame on them for the amount of lip service they give to this topic,” she said through tears.
“Shame on them for ignoring all the people that rely on a healthcare service. These are real human lives, not only the patients that lose their lives or have adverse outcomes when they really are so vulnerable and seeking help.
“They have the budget. They have the capacity to do good. Nothing has changed.”
‘Horror stories’ coming out of Australian hospitals
In January, Mr Albanese announced an additional $25 billion for public hospital funding over the next five years.
However, the Australian Medical Association said that amount was still about $10 billion less than the amount needed to get public hospitals out of “crisis mode”, given the country’s ageing population.
Ms Halvorsen said right now, hospitals more than ever are seeing “horror stories” unfold with nurses run off their feet, and politicians failing to realise the dire reality.
“ICUs are still bed blocked. Hospitals are still bed blocked,” she said.
“Any society should be judged on how it treats its most vulnerable and its most needy … why has nothing changed?”
Ms Halvorsen said she was forced to walk away from the job she loved due to unsafe conditions. Picture: Supplied
Ms Halvorsen said one of the reasons she walked away from nursing was the fact she was paid more picking up $60 an hour casual shifts at Woolworths testing their staff for Covid-19.
“The pay was better. The conditions were better. It was just giving someone a test; they dip it in, off you go, see you later,” she said.
“We were better off going and packing shelves at Aldi.”
In May, NSW nurses successfully fought for a major pay increase. However, nurses said the pay had been a long time coming and had barely kept up with the cost of living.
Ms Halvorsen said there was nothing that had been changed systemically to compel her to return to nursing – a devastating reality, given her deep love for the profession.
Amy Halvorsen made nationwide headlines when she very publicly walked off the job at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital four years ago.
Nurses everywhere were doing double shifts and being told to stay at work despite being Covid-19 close contacts, with Ms Halvorsen’s ward operating at one-third its usual staffing level.
At the time, she thought the “chaotic and dangerous” conditions facing nurses could not get worse.
Former nurse slams response to Australia’s healthcare system
A former Sydney nurse has…
Four years later, she has been proven wrong.
As part of news.com.au’s investigation into Australia’s predicted shortfall of 70,000 nurses by 2035, Ms Halvorsen has exposed how “no changes” have been made at hospitals since Covid-19, despite a “huge mass exodus” of experienced nurses over the past three years.
Since leaving in 2022, she has packed up and moved to Karratha, about 1500km north of Perth, and is working as an NDIS support worker.
She said all the nurses she worked with during Covid-19 had eventually done the same, and left “one-by-one” for “soft nursing” jobs – working in governance, private clinics or cosmetics.
Some have changed their careers completely, going back to university to study business or law.
Ms Halvorsen said she cannot believe little has been done to improve conditions for nurses, who she claimed were “used” during the pandemic.
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Albo’s letter strikes nurses
Last September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to the states and territories, telling them to rein in spending if they wanted to maintain their public hospital funding from the federal government – a sentiment Ms Halvorsen said is a slap in the face to nurses.
“Shame on them for the amount of lip service they give to this topic,” she said through tears.
“Shame on them for ignoring all the people that rely on a healthcare service. These are real human lives, not only the patients that lose their lives or have adverse outcomes when they really are so vulnerable and seeking help.
“They have the budget. They have the capacity to do good. Nothing has changed.”
‘Horror stories’ coming out of Australian hospitals
In January, Mr Albanese announced an additional $25 billion for public hospital funding over the next five years.
However, the Australian Medical Association said that amount was still about $10 billion less than the amount needed to get public hospitals out of “crisis mode”, given the country’s ageing population.
Ms Halvorsen said right now, hospitals more than ever are seeing “horror stories” unfold with nurses run off their feet, and politicians failing to realise the dire reality.
“ICUs are still bed blocked. Hospitals are still bed blocked,” she said.
“Any society should be judged on how it treats its most vulnerable and its most needy … why has nothing changed?”
Ms Halvorsen said she was forced to walk away from the job she loved due to unsafe conditions. Picture: Supplied
Ms Halvorsen said one of the reasons she walked away from nursing was the fact she was paid more picking up $60 an hour casual shifts at Woolworths testing their staff for Covid-19.
“The pay was better. The conditions were better. It was just giving someone a test; they dip it in, off you go, see you later,” she said.
“We were better off going and packing shelves at Aldi.”
In May, NSW nurses successfully fought for a major pay increase. However, nurses said the pay had been a long time coming and had barely kept up with the cost of living.
Ms Halvorsen said there was nothing that had been changed systemically to compel her to return to nursing – a devastating reality, given her deep love for the profession.
She said she still hasn’t found anything that “sets my heart and soul on fire” like her first few years in the job did.
“It felt like I lost my spark, my passion, purpose,” she said about making the difficult decision to walk away from nursing.
Former nurse Amy Halvorsen now works as a disability worker in WA. Picture: Supplied
The solution
As part of an investigation into the shortfall, news.com.au has compiled a list of possible solutions after speaking to more than a dozen nurses about how we can better improve their working conditions.
Right now, each state and territory has its own EBA, meaning nurses in some states are being paid less than others.
It means as pay rates change, many nurses move interstate for better pay or conditions.
Nurses are calling for improved equal pay across the board, as well as free parking for healthcare workers at their own hospitals.
Staff are also calling for mandated 1:4 national ratios across all wards and aged care facilities, which includes a mixed skill element.
Right now, most states have 1:4 ratios in hospitals during morning shifts. However, often just one senior nurse is left with three inexperienced nurses, putting pressure on the system as a whole.
Nurses are also calling for better mental health support, given the increasing rates of abuse they are facing, and are seeking fully-subsidised private therapy sessions as a result.
Ms Halvorsen said that nurses are always offered Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) for counselling when they flag burnout or go through a traumatic event.
However, they are often connected with a student psychologist who has less mental health training than the nurse themselves.
“I’m more equipped to counsel someone than EAP at this point,” Ms Halvorsen said.
Governments say they are addressing crisis
In response to news.com.au’s series into the nursing crisis, the federal government responded by saying it had recently developed a National Nursing Workforce Strategy which had demonstrated “the Government’s commitment to supporting and strengthening the nursing workforce”.
The strategy includes the development of leadership and anti-racism programs, as well as initiatives to grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nursing workforce.
“A key focus is growing and retaining the nursing workforce Australia needs now and into the future,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing told news.com.au.
A spokesperson for NSW Health said the state government had worked to increase the nursing workforce by more than 10 per cent between June 2023 and June 2026.
“NSW Health recognises and is deeply thankful for the outstanding commitment of our
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dedicated and skilled nurses who provide high-quality, safe and compassionate care
to the people of NSW every day,” the spokesperson said.
Four years later, she has been proven wrong.
As part of news.com.au’s investigation into Australia’s predicted shortfall of 70,000 nurses by 2035, Ms Halvorsen has exposed how “no changes” have been made at hospitals since Covid-19, despite a “huge mass exodus” of experienced nurses over the past three years.
Since leaving in 2022, she has packed up and moved to Karratha, about 1500km north of Perth, and is working as an NDIS support worker.
She said all the nurses she worked with during Covid-19 had eventually done the same, and left “one-by-one” for “soft nursing” jobs – working in governance, private clinics or cosmetics.
Some have changed their careers completely, going back to university to study business or law.
Ms Halvorsen said she cannot believe little has been done to improve conditions for nurses, who she claimed were “used” during the pandemic.
