Two-nurse night shifts and the absence of an on-call roster are among the reasons NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association branches at Bourke, Brewarrina, Lightning Ridge, Cobar, Barradine, Warren, Coonamble and Dunedoo are sending resolutions to Western NSW Local Health District chief executive Scott McLachlan.

The nurses are also concerned about security at their workplaces with the association’s Sydney-based lead organiser Linda Griffiths reporting that “there's no police in these towns at night, except Bourke”.

The association is currently determining where wardsmen-cum-security staff are working, having already identified positions at Bourke and Walgett.

“Safe staffing and security are two things that go together,” Ms Griffiths said.

But the health district’s director of nursing and midwifery Adrian Fahy reports that it is providing “award required staffing” to its multipurpose service facilities as agreed to by the union.

“Beyond this specific staffing framework, nursing and hospital management make an assessment of staffing requirements based on a range of factors including patient safety, clinical needs, professional judgment, previous experience and safe systems of work,” he said.

“There is an escalation process in place that can be triggered if additional staffing resources are required at any of our rural sites.”

Mr Fahy also reported of a recent review of security responses across all facilities to “optimise the safe provision of care”.

Ms Griffiths said nurses were “very frustrated about the level of care they can provide” at night.

“Two nurses are on the night shift and they are caring for all these other patients and an emergency arrives and they’ve got no on-call roster,” she said.

“How can you deliver the best care that person from your community deserves?”

Ms Griffiths said seven of the eight communities had multipurpose services with aged care beds.