❓ The Minister for Health responds to questions regarding the implementation of nurse-to-patient ratios and support for frontline healthcare workers, highlighting government achievements in increasing healthcare staff and delivering reforms.
AnsweredQoN 462Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NURSE-TO-PATIENT RATIOS
462. Mr H.T. JONES to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to building a stronger healthcare system.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the phased
implementation of nurse-to-patient ratios in WA hospitals , including at
Perth Children's Hospital?
(2) Can the minister advise the house how this
government continues to support our frontline healthcare workers?
462. Mr H.T. JONES to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
commitment to building a stronger healthcare system.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the phased
implementation of nurse-to-patient ratios in WA hospitals , including at
Perth Children's Hospital?
(2) Can the minister advise the house how this
government continues to support our frontline healthcare workers?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Darling Range for the question. We know that it is only
the WA Labor government that supports the healthcare workforce in Western Australia.
Since coming to government in 2017, we have increased our nursing FTE by 4 400,
increased our medical FTE by 1 600 and increased our allied health staff by
about 1 600. That is an overall increase in the healthcare workforce of 30 per
cent.
In fact, the Labor government
continues to deliver meaningful reforms. It was a former Labor health minister,
Bob Kucera, who introduced the current workload management framework that
nurses operate under—that is, nursing hours per patient day. That is
the framework that nurses currently work under. The Australian Nursing
Federation had campaigned for 20 years for nurse-to-patient ratios, and it is
this government that is delivering nurse-to-patient ratios. It is also this
government that has delivered permanency for WA doctors. Following a recent
Australian Medical Association agreement, doctors will not just have contracts
rolled over and renewed; they now have permanency, which means that they can
get mortgages, finance and loans, and can live their lives with more security
and certainty.
I
am very proud to be part of a government that is delivering nurse-to-patient
ratios. This is a historic workload reform
for our nursing staff and it will deliver for our nurses. As I said, the ANF
had campaigned on this for 20 years. The first site to roll out
nurse-to-patient ratios was the Perth Children's Hospital emergency
department. That commenced in June and July last year and it has been an
outstanding success. The reason it has been
such an incredible success is that it was developed with nursing staff on the
ground, implemented with staff, and implemented with the leadership of
the ANF. It has been an outstanding success.
That is part of our planned
progressive rollout of this new workforce model across the entire WA health
system. We have worked closely with the ANF on the ratios task force, which was
established as a result of its recent enterprise bargaining agreement with
representatives from the ANF. We will be rolling out nurse-to-patient ratios
across all metropolitan sites, starting with the North Metropolitan Health
Service in all general medical and general surgical wards. The ratios
applicable in these wards will be one to four during the day and one to seven
at night. The ratios will be applied across wards, which will give nurses the
flexibility to provide more support to patients where required.
In terms of our junior doctor
workforce, this government has been listening. The life of a junior doctor can be challenging. I encourage anyone who has not
seen it to watch Junior Doctors Down Under on SBS , which started
last week. It is fantastic and shows not only our amazing health system at
work, but also the importance of the junior doctor workforce. They really are
the machine of our hospitals. They keep every
episode of care moving and we cannot run our hospitals without them. Being a junior
doctor can often be characterised by incredibly long hours in difficult
circumstances, but we are working closely with the Australian Medical
Association to change that. Hospitals are now providing workforce initiatives
such as a junior medical officer manifesto and the doctor support unit for the
South Metropolitan Health Service at Fiona
Stanley Hospital, which I launched a few weeks ago. Earlier this year, the East
Metropolitan Health Service launched the east experience strategy to
support and understand our junior doctor workforce. We know that we need to
continue to make improvements. Of course, we are not only bringing Peel Health Campus
back into public hands, but also providing that workforce with secure
employment and an uplift of entitlements, including the recognition of prior
service. Many of the staff have been with Peel Health Campus for 20 years. It
is only a Labor government that provides secure, good jobs in the Western Australian
health system and supports ratios in our health system. We are yet to hear the
Liberal and Nationals WA position on whether they will continue the rollout of
ratios in the health system or cancel them, because they have not once
reiterated their support for that.
thank the member for Darling Range for the question. We know that it is only
the WA Labor government that supports the healthcare workforce in Western Australia.
Since coming to government in 2017, we have increased our nursing FTE by 4 400,
increased our medical FTE by 1 600 and increased our allied health staff by
about 1 600. That is an overall increase in the healthcare workforce of 30 per
cent.
In fact, the Labor government
continues to deliver meaningful reforms. It was a former Labor health minister,
Bob Kucera, who introduced the current workload management framework that
nurses operate under—that is, nursing hours per patient day. That is
the framework that nurses currently work under. The Australian Nursing
Federation had campaigned for 20 years for nurse-to-patient ratios, and it is
this government that is delivering nurse-to-patient ratios. It is also this
government that has delivered permanency for WA doctors. Following a recent
Australian Medical Association agreement, doctors will not just have contracts
rolled over and renewed; they now have permanency, which means that they can
get mortgages, finance and loans, and can live their lives with more security
and certainty.
I
am very proud to be part of a government that is delivering nurse-to-patient
ratios. This is a historic workload reform
for our nursing staff and it will deliver for our nurses. As I said, the ANF
had campaigned on this for 20 years. The first site to roll out
nurse-to-patient ratios was the Perth Children's Hospital emergency
department. That commenced in June and July last year and it has been an
outstanding success. The reason it has been
such an incredible success is that it was developed with nursing staff on the
ground, implemented with staff, and implemented with the leadership of
the ANF. It has been an outstanding success.
That is part of our planned
progressive rollout of this new workforce model across the entire WA health
system. We have worked closely with the ANF on the ratios task force, which was
established as a result of its recent enterprise bargaining agreement with
representatives from the ANF. We will be rolling out nurse-to-patient ratios
across all metropolitan sites, starting with the North Metropolitan Health
Service in all general medical and general surgical wards. The ratios
applicable in these wards will be one to four during the day and one to seven
at night. The ratios will be applied across wards, which will give nurses the
flexibility to provide more support to patients where required.
In terms of our junior doctor
workforce, this government has been listening. The life of a junior doctor can be challenging. I encourage anyone who has not
seen it to watch Junior Doctors Down Under on SBS , which started
last week. It is fantastic and shows not only our amazing health system at
work, but also the importance of the junior doctor workforce. They really are
the machine of our hospitals. They keep every
episode of care moving and we cannot run our hospitals without them. Being a junior
doctor can often be characterised by incredibly long hours in difficult
circumstances, but we are working closely with the Australian Medical
Association to change that. Hospitals are now providing workforce initiatives
such as a junior medical officer manifesto and the doctor support unit for the
South Metropolitan Health Service at Fiona
Stanley Hospital, which I launched a few weeks ago. Earlier this year, the East
Metropolitan Health Service launched the east experience strategy to
support and understand our junior doctor workforce. We know that we need to
continue to make improvements. Of course, we are not only bringing Peel Health Campus
back into public hands, but also providing that workforce with secure
employment and an uplift of entitlements, including the recognition of prior
service. Many of the staff have been with Peel Health Campus for 20 years. It
is only a Labor government that provides secure, good jobs in the Western Australian
health system and supports ratios in our health system. We are yet to hear the
Liberal and Nationals WA position on whether they will continue the rollout of
ratios in the health system or cancel them, because they have not once
reiterated their support for that.
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