Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

International Nurses Day is celebrated each year on 12 May, marking the birth of Florence Nightingale, whose vision and values serve as a model for nurses around the world. It was a privilege to join nurses at Wyong Hospital this year to mark the occasion and to present the Nurse of the Year awards. The Wyong Hospital Nurse of the Year for 2017 is Michelle Remaili—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The level of noise in the chamber is too high. I cannot hear the speaker.

Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Wyong Hospital Nurse of the Year for 2017 is Michelle Remaili, from the Medical Assessment Unit. Michelle's peers nominated her for going above and beyond, for building team morale and advocating for patient safety. Michelle has been active in Essentials of Care quality improvement activities and is a driving force in motivating staff and team building. Her colleagues say she makes quality improvement fun. Michelle has a keen interest in preventative medicine. Her colleagues appreciate her high standards of care, her critical thinking and her evidence based practice.

Runner-up for 2017 is Sonia Rankin, from Wyong's Rehabilitation Unit. Sonia is a pressure injury champion, currently working on the quality improvement project relating to pressure injuries. She is an Essentials of Care facilitator, working towards improvements in care and culture. Sonia has taken on the nursing unit manager role, where her calm and capable manner has proved invaluable in carrying out her leadership duties. Team of the Year is the Wyong emergency department, led by Mark Constable. The Wyong ED consistently ranks as one of the busiest emergency departments in New South Wales, with over 60,000 presentations each year. The ED team does an extraordinary job every day, often in confronting and, at times, violent circumstances. They are always professional and caring, and consistently deliver a high standard of safety and quality patient care.

The community recognition the ED team receives is a testament to their skills and knowledge and, most importantly, to the cornerstone of nursing—care and compassion. They exemplify caring for the coast—every patient, every time. I would like to personally thank each of the award winners for their contribution to our community's hospital. As a pharmacist at Wyong Hospital for almost 10 years, I worked side by side with outstanding nurses who work hard in life and death situations, caring for patients and their loved ones. I commend these outstanding nurses on their achievement, and express gratitude on behalf of the community for all the hard work our nurses do.

Tonight, I will be standing side by side with our nurses and our community at a forum to stop the privatisation of Wyong Hospital. As someone who worked at Wyong Hospital for 10 years and who knows the care that the hospital provides to our community, I am deeply concerned about the slated privatisation, and I call on the New South Wales government in their state budget next week to stand up to properly fund public health services and save Wyong Hospital.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.