Hundreds of nurses working in overcrowded ICUs have written an emotional open letter to Gladys Berejiklian begging for more staff as Covid cases are set to skyrocket. The NSW government released modelling showing COVID-19 cases will increase into September, with significant pressure on hospitals to follow in October. However, the modelling will not be released in full, leading to uncertainty from frontline staff. The letter, obtained by News, was co-signed by intensive care healthcare workers around the state describing their 'extreme concern' at the lack of appropriate conditions both for nurses and for patients in NSW hospitals. 'Given the chronic unsafe staffing conditions, exacerbated by Covid-19, we cannot deliver the care you expect us to provide and the level of critical care our patients rightly deserve,' the letter reads. 'We are extremely concerned about our ability to provide safe nursing care under the current staffing levels afforded by the NSW government to ICUs around this state. Hundreds of nurses working in New South Wales's overcrowded ICUs have written an emotional open letter to the premier begging for more staff and better conditions The open letter to Premier Gladys Berejiklian described the 'chronic unsafe staffing conditions' that NSW nurses are currently working under and begged for more support 'Given the chronic unsafe staffing conditions, exacerbated by Covid-19, we cannot deliver the care you expect us to provide and the level of critical care our patients rightly deserve,' the letter signed by hundreds of NSW nurses reads 'Never before has there been such a crucial time in NSW where ICUs should be properly staffed to avoid preventable patient outcomes. 'We urge you and your government to urgently fix the ICU staffing crisis. It cannot wait.' NSW is six weeks away from the most significant pressure ever placed on its intensive care systems as health care workers brace for a 'difficult and exhausting' period ahead. Despite the repeated referrals to the modelling, it will not be released in full, as confirmed by NSW Health. 'From time to time NSW Health obtains COVID-19 related modelling,' a spokesperson said. 'After public discussion around the capacity of the state's ICU resources to cope with the current outbreak, the NSW government asked NSW Health to collate modelling to do with ICU capacity. That modelling was released today.' However, modelling from the Burnet Institute reveals even at the pandemic's worst phase for the hospital system - expected in late October and the first half of November - authorities don't believe ICU occupancy will reach anywhere close to the surge capacity of 1550 patients. 'You may be moved to a different hospital than the one closest to your home. You may have slightly different surroundings to what you would normally,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday. 'But the bottom line is anyone who needs that care will receive it.' The modelling suggests case numbers will continue to increase until mid-September in COVID-19 hotspots, reaching up to 2000 cases per day. Cases in New South Wales continue to hit record numbers on a near daily basis despite Greater Sydney being in lockdown for nearly three months NSW is six weeks away from the most significant pressure ever placed on its intensive care systems as health care workers brace for a 'difficult and exhausting' period ahead Officials have turned to vaccinations as the solution for fighting the latest Delta outbreak, with 38 per cent of the NSW population now fully vaccinated The flow-on effect of those case numbers on hospitals and ICUs will follow, with up to 3900 patients expected to need hospital admission. By the time of the greatest stress in late October, three in five ICU patients could have COVID-19. The estimated peak of patients in ICU is 947, of whom 560 would be COVID-19 patients and 387 have other ailments. At that point, some ICU patients will be treated in other spaces like operating theatres. Doctors and healthcare workers will be caring for a larger number of patients than usual. Some critically ill patients, who would be in intensive care were it not for the pandemic, will be treated outside intensive care units. By November, hospitalisation numbers will start to fall, a side effect of increased vaccination coverage. The modelling shows ICUs in South Western Sydney, Western Sydney, Nepean Blue Mountains and Northern Sydney Local Health Districts are already approaching capacity. Sydneysiders enjoy the weekend sun in Bondi with dozens of people spotted sitting on the grassy hill in North Bondi AMA NSW president Danielle McMullen says the government must also consider the impact on patients needing non-COVID-19 care. 'The decision to suspend elective surgery, and changes to other non-COVID service provision in public and private hospitals, is significantly impacting patients needing access to care and must be balanced with a plan on how to address patient needs in the coming months,' she said on Tuesday. 'Patients who aren't able to go back to work or are in chronic pain because they need elective surgery will be left behind when we start to open up.' Some 177 COVID-19 patients are now in intensive care, with 67 on ventilators. There are 1071 COVID-19 patients in hospital in NSW. NSW reported 1281 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and five fatalities on Monday, taking the death toll for the current outbreak to 131. Intensive care doctor Nhi Nguyen, who helped devise the state's pandemic ICU strategy, said her colleagues were worried. The coming months will be 'difficult and exhausting' for health care workers, and the projected numbers look 'challenging and frightening', she said. 'We know that without vaccinations, and without the public health orders, the numbers would be much worse.' All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility