Snap poll of 300 public sector nurses paints a picture of declining standards of care and poor staff morale. By Linda Belardi.

Ninety per cent of Tasmanian public sector nurses believe that patient care is being compromised due to the state's health budget cuts, according to a union survey. Australian Nursing Federation (Tasmanian branch) secretary Neroli Ellis said one third of nurses had raised examples of serious or adverse incidents, including patients being sent home too early, cancelled surgeries and several suicide attempts that could have been prevented had clients had access to a mental health case manager. Nurses reported that mental health patients were now presenting to hospital emergency departments...