said the violence against health workers in Bourke was emblematic of the issues facing such staff in remote areas. She claimed administration staff from the front office were being called on to check on patients in the aged care wing because there was an insufficient number of nurses. She believed the patients at the hospital were being neglected due to a lack of staff with just two registered nurses responsible for the emergency department, an acute ward, an aged care wing and a COVID ward during a night shift. She feared a nurse could lose their life through the violence, or that a patient could die through the chronic staffing shortages. Bourke Shire mayor Barry Hollman expressed concern for the ramifications for the hospital if the ongoing violence prompted health workers to refuse to come to Bourke. He said he was devastated by the level of violence in the town, which had shocked the community. In a statement, Western New South Wales Local Health District chief executive Mark Spittal said his organisation had a zero tolerance of threatening or criminal behaviour and was working with Bourke Shire Council, various agencies and community leaders to address the issues. Spittal said a number of measures had already been established including a 24/7 security presence and improvements to infrastructure such as lighting with further measures expected to be put in place in the near future. Media The town is served by nine FM and three AM radio stations, and five television channels. The commercial radio stations are Flow FM, Rebel FM and The Breeze. Flow FM broadcasts on 102.5 FM (MHz), Rebel FM broadcasts on 104.9 FM (MHz) and The Breeze broadcasts on 107.3 FM (MHz) from Mt Oxley, Bourke. Both Rebel and Breeze stations are part of the Rebel Media group. ABC radio broadcasts on both the FM and AM bands and is pivotal to maintaining rural and community ties in the area. There are three community radio stations based in Bourke. 2WEB broadcasts with 10,000 watts on 585 AM. 2CUZ is the Indigenous radio station on 106.5 FM. Gold FM is the tourist info station on 88.0 FM. The first two stations broadcast to a myriad of communities in the region. The local paper, The Western Herald, is published on a weekly basis (every Thursday) year-round, except during a short break at Christmas. Gallery See also List of disasters in Australia