Maitland Hospital has now begun rostering to Safe Staffing Levels in the emergency department (ED), as the NSW Government continues to deliver on its promise to implement the historic staffing reform.
Maitland Hospital recently completed a successful recruitment campaign of 25.94 full time equivalent (FTE) nurses in the ED, to fulfil the Safe Staffing Level requirements.
In total, 56 EDs have commenced implementation of Safe Staffing Levels across NSW, with 30 EDs having already completed recruitment. Across the state, more than 860 FTE nurses have been recruited in emergency departments since the Safe Staffing Levels rollout commenced.
The staffing boost enables the rostering of one-to-one nursing care for generally occupied ED resuscitation beds on all shifts, and one nurse to three generally occupied ED treatment spaces and ED short-stay unit beds on all shifts.
The Safe Staffing Levels Taskforce was established to oversee the rollout of the NSW Government's commitment of 2,480 FTE over four years. It includes key leaders from the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA), NSW Health, and local health districts.
The former Coalition government cut healthcare staff, capped their wages and refused to introduce ratios.
The Minns Labor Government is getting things back on track, making the long-term investments into recruiting more staff and building more hospitals to better meet the growing health needs of our community and relieve pressure on our health system.
Implementing Safe Staffing Levels is just one of a range of measures that the Minns Labor Government is embracing to build a more supported health workforce, including:
- 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 1,112 nurses which the Liberal Government planned to sack;
- Recruiting 500 additional paramedics in regional, rural and remote communities; and
- Supporting our future health workforce through providing them with study subsidies
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health, Ryan Park:
"We are continuing to deliver on our commitment to nurses with the introduction of Safe Staffing Levels in our hospitals - one of the largest structural reforms to our health workforce in a generation, following years of wage suppression and neglect by the Liberals and Nationals.
"Completing the roll out of Safe Staffing Levels in the Emergency Department at Maitland Hospital is a significant accomplishment and reflects our commitment to continuing to improve service delivery and support our workforce."
Quotes attributable to Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley:
"Maitland is one of the fastest-growing parts of the Hunter, and that growth has to be matched with the right investment in frontline health services.
"We know hospital staff across the Hunter are working hard but Safe Staffing Levels is about backing our nurses, easing pressure in the ED and making sure a growing community like Maitland gets the healthcare support it needs."
Quotes attributable to Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison:
"Achieving Safe Staffing Levels in the Emergency Department at Maitland Hospital is a major win for our community.
"I welcome the recruitment of these nurses to the Maitland Hospital's Emergency Department. The newly recruited nurses will provide much needed support to our hardworking health staff."
Quotes attributable to General Secretary, NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association Michael Whaites:
"Nurse-to-patient ratios will provide much needed workload relief to our members in the Maitland Hospital emergency department who have been experiencing ongoing staffing shortages.
"Along with better conditions for staff, ratios will lead to improved health outcomes for patients in the Hunter.
"This election commitment is a crucial workforce reform and we look forward to seeing the rollout progress across all EDs in NSW."
Quotes attributable to Hunter New England Local Health District Executive Director of Clinical Services - Nursing and Midwifery, Elizabeth Grist OAM:
"Thank you to all of the staff who have contributed to this achievement and for your continued focus on delivering safe, high quality care for the Hunter New England community."
