INTERNATIONAL Nurses Day was celebrated on Tuesday, giving us the opportunity to recognise the wonderful role they play in our community.
With our lives turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, the day had extra significance because, even in times of uncertainty and chaos, our nurses are always there.
They see us and our loved ones at our most vulnerable – sick, hurt or scared. They are also there in happy times, like when families welcome a newborn into the world.
And they were there for my family on Saturday night when a mishap at home resulted in a trip to the hospital with our toddler.
It was Mother’s Day eve and, as any mother would understand, there is something deeply unsettling about seeing your child lying on a hospital bed, whatever the reason.
It’s during these moments that small gestures of kindness mean the world, and the support we received from the nursing team was exceptional.
They were professional and warm towards my husband and I and they were kind and patient with our scared child, even though their efforts to win him over were rejected every time with a stern “go away!”
In our hour of need, they applied skills and knowledge that Ben and I, powerlessly, didn’t have.
Our hospital staff, especially our nurses, are and always will be Mildura Base Hospital’s best asset.
The drive and passion behind a push for the Base to be returned to public management was not just about improving patient safety but improving wages and conditions for its hard-working staff, including its nurses.
For more than 20 years, they have been denied salary packaging. This has been a direct result of the for-profit model that set Mildura Base apart from every other public hospital in the state.
Our nurses deserved better. And on September 15, when our hospital returns to public hands, they’ll get it.
To the nurses and all other staff at Mildura Base Hospital, I hope you enjoy your pay rise on September 15. You bloody deserve it.
Ali Cupper, Member for Mildura
