Hospitals in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven will soon benefit from an additional 70 FTE nurses, with recruitment to begin in coming weeks.
The Minns Labor Government will begin to implement Safe Staffing Levels across general wards in the region through the recruitment of:
- 45 FTE additional nurses for Wollongong Hospital
- 11 FTE additional nurses for Shoalhaven Hospital
- 10 FTE additional nurses for Shellharbour Hospital
- 2 FTE additional nurses for Milton Ulladulla Hospital
This comes as the Minns Labor Government expands its historic Safe Staffing Levels reform to more than 360 general and specialty wards across the state.
This rollout is in addition to the more than 6,700 nurses and midwives recruited over the last three years to rebuild our health system after a decade of neglect under the Liberals.
The expansion means more nurses on hospital wards, better support for the existing workforce and safer, higher-quality care for patients.
A minimum of one nurse to four patients will apply during morning and afternoon shifts across the participating wards.
This is the next major stage of one of the most significant hospital staffing reforms in generations.
Safe Staffing Levels are already being rolled out at 81 emergency departments across NSW, with 990 nurses already recruited.
Emergency Department Safe Staffing Levels have already been implemented across the District, with 30 FTE additional nurses recruited for Wollongong Hospital, 28 FTE additional nurses recruited for Shoalhaven Hospital, and 15 FTE additional nurses recruited for Shellharbour Hospital.
Planning is also underway on the rollout of Safe Staffing Levels at seven dedicated postnatal wards across NSW, which is aimed at benefiting women and families by providing further improvements to public maternity care.
The Coalition refused to introduce nurse to patient ratios; planned to cut 1,112 nurses; and froze health workers' pay, causing severe health worker shortages in our hospitals.
The Minns Labor Government has made significant investments in our nursing workforce to ensure they are empowered to continue delivering exceptional care to patients and their families when they need it most. This includes:
- Rolling out Safe Staffing Levels in identified key areas across NSW public hospitals, with a commitment of 2,480 full-time equivalent staff;
- Abolishing the wages cap;
- Delivering the largest pay increase for nurses in more than two decades and the largest pay rise ever for the lowest paid nurses in NSW;
- Saving the 1,112 nurses the Liberals planned to sack
- Recruitment of more health workers including over 6,700 nurse and midwives, 930 ambulance staff, 1,500 doctors and 1,800 allied health workers over the past three years;
- Supporting our future health workforce with study subsidies;
- Helping attract and retain the essential workers NSW needs.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Minister for the Illawarra and the South Coast Ryan Park:
"Safe staffing ratios is one of the biggest staffing reforms in generations and reinforces our commitment to backing our health workforce in the Illawarra and right across NSW.
"Guaranteeing the number of nurses on every shift is crucial to giving our nurses and midwives the support they need to provide world-class care to patients and relieve pressure on our hospitals.
"This work reflects the ongoing partnership with the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association to deliver the safe staffing ratios nurses and midwives have campaigned to achieve for over a decade.
"By backing our staff and ensuring they have the support they need, we're in turn building a stronger health system for everyone."
Quotes attributable to Member for Wollongong Paul Scully:
"This is a great outcome for our hospitals, nurses and the people of the Illawarra, because it delivers the staffing levels needed to support both health care workers and patients.
"This builds on other important health investments in Wollongong including $220 million to support a future expansion and redevelopment of Wollongong Hospital, new ambulance stations at Fairy Meadow and Unanderra and the Warrawong Community Health Centre which is nearing completion.
"I look forward to welcoming these new nurses into the Illawarra."
Quotes attributable to Member for Heathcote Maryanne Stuart:
"The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association's long-running campaign for safe staffing ratios has been delivered under the Minns Labor Government, following decades of advocacy by nurses and midwives across our state.
Safe staffing ratios will help bring more nurses and midwives into our public health system, addressing workforce shortages, improving patient care, and strengthening hospitals and health services right across NSW.
Every person in NSW deserves access to safe, high-quality public healthcare. There is still more work to do, but by supporting our frontline health workers, we are delivering better outcomes for patients and communities."
Quotes attributable to Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson:
"Our nurses do an extraordinary job caring for our community every single day, and these 10 additional nurses will provide important extra support on the wards at Shellharbour Hospital.
"Safe Staffing Levels mean more nurses on shift and more time for nurses to provide the high-quality, compassionate care that patients and their families deserve.
"This is a significant investment in our local health workforce and another important step in strengthening health services for our growing Shellharbour community.
"I'm proud to be part of a Minns Labor government that is listening to our nurses and midwives and delivering the staffing improvements they have advocated for over many years."
Quotes attributable to Member for South Coast Liza Butler:
"I am delighted that Shoalhaven Hospital will receive 11 additional full-time nurses, and Milton Ulladulla Hospital will receive two additional full-time nurses as Safe Staffing Levels are rolled out across our region.
"These 13 additional nurses will make a real difference for our local hospitals, helping deliver a minimum of one nurse for every four patients on morning and afternoon shifts across general wards.
"Safe Staffing Levels means more support for our hardworking nurses and more time for them to spend with each patient and better care for people across the Shoalhaven.
"Our nurses do an extraordinary job caring for our community, often during the most difficult moments in people's lives. This investment is about backing them with the staff and resources they need to continue delivering outstanding care.
"The Minns Labor Government is rebuilding our health workforce and delivering the safer staffing levels our nurses have advocated for over many years."
Quotes attributable to Member for Kiama Katelin McInerney:
"I am proud to be part of a government prioritising regional healthcare and investing in staff to ensure we can recruit additional nurses to ease workloads and provide better patient car, and crucially, retain them.
"Having additional nurses at the two hospitals that residents in the electorate of Kiama rely on will make a big difference."
