Several hunter hospitals stand to benefit from Labor’s pledge to introduce nurse-to-patient ratios in emergency and paediatric wards in public hospitals.
Labor leader Luke Foley said it would ensure there is one nurse for every three patients on those wards.
He is also promising to spend $96 million over four years to recruit the extra nurses.
The Nurses and Midwives Association’s general secretary Brett Holmes said the John Hunter, Maitland, Belmont, Cessnock and Kurri Kurri hospitals would all benefit.
“And we know that the John Hunter Hospital is a very busy hospital in their emergency, and in the paediatric areas,” he said.
“We know that the Maitland Hospital and many other hospitals in the region that will benefit from these, including the district hospitals, as well as the referral hospitals.”
Mr Holmes said the ratios would ease staff fatigue, benefitting patients.
“The thing that really drives nurses is making sure that they deliver the care that their patients need,” he said.
“It’s about their ability to deliver safe patient care.
“They are continually frustrated when they don’t have enough staff to do that.”
The Opposition’s Hunter spokeswoman and Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery has welcomed the commitment.
“This is a landmark announcement,” she said.
“If Labor is elected, new nurses will be recruited again across Hunter New England Local Health District.
“Establishing a ratio of one nurse to three patients at emergency departments and paediatric wards will mean more sensitive care and reduced waiting times for treatment.
“At hospitals such as John Hunter and Maitland, more than one in three emergency patients are waiting more than four hours for treatment, in breach of national benchmarks.
“Additional nurses will make a difference.”
But the Health Minister Jillian Skinner has slammed the move, saying Labor cannot be trusted on the issue.
Ms Skinner said the Opposition has had an extraordinary backflip on nurse to patient ratios, after saying they would not work in 2011.