The Minns Labor Government is rolling out a new phase of safe staffing ratios across NSW emergency departments.
Minister for Health Ryan Park today announced the recruitment for additional nurses is progressing at 19 hospitals with level three and four emergency departments including:
- Canterbury Hospital
- Blue Mountains District Memorial Hospital
- Sydney Eye Hospital.
In total, 45 emergency departments have commenced safe staffing ratios rollout across Sydney and regional NSW.
The implementation of the reform aims to support the experience of patients, with over 570 FTE additional nurses already recruited in emergency departments across the state.
The Safe Staffing Levels Taskforce will continue to oversee the rollout of the Government's commitment of 2,480 FTE nurses and midwives over four years (to June 2027).
The Safe Staffing Levels initiative involves the introduction of minimum staffing levels on every shift which will result in more nurses employed in hospitals across the state.
The staffing boost of frontline healthcare workers at these hospitals will enable a one-to-one nursing care ratio for generally occupied emergency department resuscitation beds on all shifts, and one nurse to three generally occupied emergency department treatment spaces and ED short-stay unit beds on all shifts.
Phase one of safe staffing commenced in the level five and six emergency departments, which treat the most critically ill patients, and is being implemented progressively across other key areas in a phased approach.
Implementing Safe Staffing Levels is just one of a range of measures that the NSW Government is embracing to build a more supported health workforce, including:
- Funding the equivalent of 1112 FTE nurse and midwife positions on an ongoing basis
- Abolishing the wages cap and delivering the highest pay increase in over a decade for nurses and other health workers
- Beginning to roll out 500 additional paramedics in regional, rural and remote communities
- Introducing the health worker study subsidies scheme.
Canterbury, Blue Mountains and Sydney Eye Hospitals add to the following level three and four emergency departments previously announced, which includes:
- Griffith
- Manning
- Maitland
- South East Regional
- Shoalhaven Memorial
- Macksville
- Leeton Health Service
- Young Health Service
- Bathurst
- Ballina
- Grafton
- Armidale
- Cessnock
- Moruya
- Kempsey
- Shellharbour
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:
"We are continuing to make good on our commitment to nurses with the introduction of safe staffing ratios in our hospitals - one of the largest structural reforms to our health workforce in a generation.
"This is in addition to our work to deliver the largest wage increase in over a decade, while returning nurses retention to pre-pandemic levels.
"More staff, more hospitals, more beds, lower wait times and better patient outcomes - it's as simple as that."
Quotes attributable to Member for Canterbury Sophie Cotsis:
"I have met with nurses and midwives from Canterbury Hospital during their campaign for safe staffing levels both in opposition and in Government and am proud to see we are delivering. There is still more work to be done.
"The Minns Labor Government continues the work of rebuilding the state's essential services and reforming the industrial relations system.
"That work began with the scrapping of the Coalition's wages cap which was in place for 12 years, introducing a fairer, modern bargaining framework, setting up an Industrial court and amending the Industrial Relations Act to include a new Object to achieve gender equality in the workplace.
"We were elected on a mandate to fix the recruitment and retention crisis in essential services and that is what we are doing."
Quotes attributable to Member for the Blue Mountains Trish Doyle:
"Looking after our hard-working nurses has always been a priority of mine, so this commitment of ratios being delivered by Government is very welcome news for our Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital staff."
