Hospital Staff Use ChatGPT to Calculate Medication Doses

Royal Darwin Hospital staff say working conditions affect patient care.

In short:

Royal Darwin Hospital staff voice concerns about patient loads and hygiene.

Nurses label working conditions as 'scary' and use YouTube and ChatGPT.

Whistleblowers say patient loads increase from 1:3 to 1:8 during code yellow.

Understaffing forces nurses to teach themselves procedures via YouTube and ChatGPT.

Staff speak out about working conditions, saying patient loads are 'scary'.

Staff say some situations have left them feeling scared.

NT Health announces a code yellow for Royal Darwin Hospital and Palmerston Regional Hospital.

Three nurses come forward to share their experiences at Royal Darwin Hospital.

The nurses' identities are kept anonymous due to fears of workplace retribution.

'Scary' patient loads

Hospital workers say patient loads often go from 1:3 to 1:8.

During code yellows, nurses care for more patients than usual.

Sally says the situation has left her 'honestly really scared'.

Sally was on edge, worried about not being able to care for all patients.

Experienced nurse George says the high patient load means caring for high-acuity patients without training.

'We don't know how to look after these people, but we're forced to look after these people,' George says.

Double-bunking in the emergency department is common at Royal Darwin Hospital.

NT Health says RDH has a high number of very sick patients requiring acute care.

Extended wait times and cancelled elective surgeries result from the code yellow.

First-hand experience

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation secretary Heidi Crisp was a patient at RDH and saw the hospital's full capacity.

Adult patients are placed in the pediatric ward, affecting their level of care.

Heidi Crisp says nurses were not comfortable with the outliers and provided unsafe care.

Nurses were not experienced with performing certain tasks, such as administering pain medication.

RDH's over-capacity issue is often more acute in the emergency department.

Each cubicle has the right equipment for only one patient.

Only 40 per cent of urgent ED presentations at NT hospitals were seen within the recommended 30 minutes.

NT Health says the emergency department at RDH consistently experiences high demand.

One nurse says they were shocked by the unsanitary conditions on wards.

NT Health takes staffing matters very seriously and works with staff to address concerns.

A new 32-bed unit will open later this year, but staff question who will staff the ward.

NT Health recruited 202 nurses and midwives since September 2025.

Nurses 'eat their young'

George says RDH has a shortage of senior nurses to assist less experienced staff.

One nurse recalls seeing health staff using ChatGPT to calculate medication dosages.

George witnessed junior nurses on YouTube looking up how to do blood and put in cannulas.

Chantelle says she lacked experience to deal with certain situations and had nowhere to turn for advice.

Chantelle asked the grad team and ward educator for help but didn't get any.

Other nurses had similar experiences, including Sally, who was brushed off by senior staff.

'They just thought me being a junior staff member, it wasn't as serious,' Sally says.

'My patient was unresponsive, so clearly not fine.

'Like the saying goes, 'nurses eat their young', and unfortunately, I did experience that.

Hospital staff say they aren't receiving adequate training.

An NT Health spokesperson says clinical debriefs are routinely conducted to support team reflection and learning.

'NT Health takes staffing matters very seriously and we are continually working with and engaging with our staff to address any concerns they may have,' they say.

'It's disgusting, it's unsanitary'

Another facet of staffing and capacity issues is unsanitary conditions on wards.

Staff say hygiene practices at the hospital are problematic.

George says he was shocked by hygiene practices at Darwin's main hospital.

'Nurses are leaving bottles full of urine and pans full of faeces [at cleaning stations],' George says.

George says it's difficult to separate patients with infectious diseases due to over-capacity.

'Because there's not enough beds, we're putting infectious patients in the same bays, same rooms, as patients that are not infectious,' George says.

'We're noticing more patients that are coming in non-infectious and getting sick.

'Staff are getting sick and having to take time off.

One nurse says infectious patients can't always be separated from others at RDH.

George says often the only thing separating patients with infectious diseases is a paper-thin blue curtain.

National standards require scabies and influenza patients to be accommodated in a single room or with people with the same strain.

NT Health did not respond to questions about hygiene practices and infection control.

Hospital 'falling apart'

While capacity issues at RDH are exacerbated by staff shortages, the hospital's ageing infrastructure is no longer fit for purpose.

Chantelle says simple issues like patient beds not fitting through doorways are daily problems.

RDH workers say the hospital is falling apart.

'You shouldn't have to play Tetris with your beds to get them out of the room,' Chantelle says.

Chantelle says larger structural issues, such as the partial ceiling collapse, are concerning to many staff members.

'The hospital is falling apart,' Chantelle says.

NT Health chief executive Chris Hosking previously called for a new hospital to be built following the ceiling collapse.

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