Last week, the commission held a hearing with representatives of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association and the health service over long-running staffing level concerns within the hospital’s new emergency and maternity departments.

The commission recommended hospital management provide an additional 10 nursing hours on night shift in the ED on a two-month trial basis, to begin from Monday of this week, but the hospital has failed to comply.

Dr Phil Hungerford, chairman of the hospital’s Medical Staff Council, said yesterday, while his group was not privy to all the details of the issue, they were surprised management hadn’t complied with a finding from “an independent arbitrator”.

“We are all for anything that promotes the safety of patients and the welfare of staff, and we do not understand how the health service can sign up to an arbitration process and then when the umpire makes a decision, it’s not carried out,” he said.

Dr Hungerford said particularly in relation to the new emergency department, management had been told prior to its opening that the increased size of the facility and different layout would require more staff.

“We knew the move to the new building would create some issues, but the area health service has maintained the same number of staff,” he said.

Local nurses association members will hold an extraordinary branch meet- ing today.