Nurses call for agency staff in emergency department
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Nurses want the Royal Hobart Hospital to employ agency staff for the emergency department. (ABC News: Stephen Jay)
The nurses union is calling for the Royal Hobart Hospital to hire agency nurses to ease pressure on the busy emergency department.
The new $15 million emergency department was opened more than a year ago, but its 10 bed short stay unit has never been used due to a shortage of staff.
Neroli Ellis, from the Australian Nursing Federation says hospital management's promised agency nurses, but failed to deliver.
"It's purely due to a lack of funding," Mrs Ellis said.
"We know there are agency emergency nurses available to work and start within a week, and yet management are telling us they can't get those staff," she said.
