President of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Port Macquarie Base Hospital branch Mark Brennan said staff are exhausted.

"We are so understaffed it's not funny," he said.

"We have wards that are partially closed due to Covid. We are short on staff because nurses are off work because they have Covid.

"Nurses are just so tired and exhausted."

Mr Brennan said hospital staff are having to work overtime to help fill-in for those who are off sick due to Covid.

"The overtime is just ridiculous. Nurses are saying yes to shifts because they're empathetic. That's what we do, we try and provide safe patient care," he said.

"Nurses aren't taking lunch breaks, we're leaving late, we're doing our notes in our own time. Nothing is being recognised and it feels like we're being taken for granted."

Chief executive of the Mid North Coast Local Health District (MNCLHD) Stewart Dowrick said the district acknowledges the ongoing impacts on staff working across local hospitals.

"We appreciate their efforts in working additional hours as required. We regularly monitor the wellbeing of our staff and the amount of overtime they choose to work," he said.

"We currently have a number of nursing staff from Port Macquarie Base Hospital who have been furloughed due to either being close contacts of COVID-19 cases or testing positive for the virus. Many of those staff are due to return to work in coming days.

"All wards at Port Macquarie Base Hospital are open however the numbers of beds available for patients fluctuate daily in line with the staffing situation."

Mr Dowrick also said between mid-2012 and mid-2021 the MNCLHD increased its workforce by an additional 1128 full time equivalent staff - including 137 more doctors, 538 more nurses and midwives, and 85 more allied health staff.

Mr Brennan said the rally organised for 1.30pm on Sunday at Town Green is to highlight the difficult working conditions and short staff issue Port Macquarie Base Hospital is currently facing.

"However many additional nurses we have had at the hospital in the past nine years, it's not enough," he said.

"We've had a big response so far to the rally. We're hoping quite a few nurses will turn up. We've also asked for families and the general public to come along and support us as well.

"It isn't a strike, so nursing staff that are working won't be attending rally.

"We're just asking for more nurses on the ground. We need a big influx of nursing staff across NSW."

Mr Brennan said the compassion shown to health staff by the community hasn't gone unnoticed.

"I would like to thank the public for their compassion and understanding with the conditions that we're working under and we hope that they support us in this rally."

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