Queensland offers $1,800 a year for nurses’ education, a Covid bonus – both absent in NSW – and higher wages, Ryan-Agnew said. The Tweed hospital is buckling under spiking demand for care and a lack of trained staff and appropriate equipment. The nurse manager shares office space and air-conditioning with two beds set aside for Covid patients with no air-locked space for changing PPE. “We have bottles of hand sanitiser sitting on top of overflowing bins, flapping Covid tent flaps compromising PPE,” another staff member, who requested anonymity, said. “These positions have been filled with new staff, casual staff, and any potential shortages can also be filled with staff between wards and facilities.

Source: The Guardian January 05, 2022 17:08 UTC