NT Hospital Crisis: Nurses Turn to YouTube, ChatGPT

0:00Nurses at Royal Darwin Hospital, the busiest spot in Australia's northern territory, are so understaffed they're turning to YouTube for procedures and chat GPT for drug dosages while urine and feces containers stack up around them. Whistleblower say patient loads have spiked from one nurse per three patients to one for eight, leaving everyone stretched thin during repeated code. Yellow alerts this year. Here this week, the hospital hit another code, yellow alongside Palmerston Regional, the third time already, with nursing unions reporting daily. Violence threats against staff. Emergency weights are brutal only 40% of urgent cases seen within 30 minutes, and they've canceled elective surgeries to handle the surge. These nurses, speaking anonymously out of fear, describe real tear on the job. One said she felt on edge with seven high needs patients, unable to. Said herself in two, if things went south. Even the union secretary ended up as a patient in a kid's ward, watching inexperienced

1:00staff struggle with adult care. Unsanitary chaos asked to the mess, infectious patients like those with scabies or flu mixed in open bays behind thin curtains, sparking more illnesses, among patients and staff. The hospital's aging setup doesn't help beds that won't fit doors, leaking roofs, even a ceiling collapse last year from a cyclone. IntiHealth is recruiting 202 nurses since September, and plans a new 32-bed unit soon, but frontline workers doubt it'll fix the. Senior staff gaps or infrastructure woes anytime soon, calling for real change to keep care safe. I'm Corey with the story, and you've been listening to Sydney News today, AI-powered local news.