❓ Ms Kent asks about the implementation of nurse-to-patient ratios. The Minister responds by highlighting investments in the health system, increased staffing, and the rollout of nurse-to-patient ratios, citing positive initial outcomes and further investment.
AnsweredQoN 364Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Health—Nurse-to-patient ratio
364. Ms Ali Kent to the
Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook
government's commitment to ensuring that Western Australians get the health
care they need when they need it.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the
implementation of the nurse-to-patient ratios across WA's health system?
(2) Can the minister advise how this provides Western
Australian patients with greater access to care?
364. Ms Ali Kent to the
Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook
government's commitment to ensuring that Western Australians get the health
care they need when they need it.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the
implementation of the nurse-to-patient ratios across WA's health system?
(2) Can the minister advise how this provides Western
Australian patients with greater access to care?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the
question and for her excellent work in her community. We are very proud of the
work we are doing to invest record amounts in our health system. Because of
that, we have been able to deliver more than 900 new beds to the system and we
have also increased our staff. The member will be happy to hear that as of July
this year, we have now added over 5,000 extra nurses and 1,900 additional doctors
to our health system since 2021. That is because we know how important staff—the
people who work in it—are to our system. Again, I want to acknowledge
the incredible work they do every year to deliver high-quality care for Western
Australians.
It is because of our commitment
to staff and the people who work in the health system that we have delivered on
our commitment to roll out nurse-to-patient and midwife-to-patient ratios. This
is something that the Australian Nursing Federation has been asking for for
years, but it has taken a Labor government to deliver it. Ratios have already
been successfully introduced at the Perth Children's Hospital emergency
department and at wards in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Osborne Park Hospital,
with the initial evaluation showing encouraging outcomes for both patients and
staff, as we would expect. To continue that rollout, in the last budget we
invested over $20 million to support an additional 160 FTEs. This will support
rolling out ratios to general medical and surgical wards right across the
metropolitan area, with further rollouts beyond that to be taken in a staged
way. Under these new ratios, there will be one nurse for every four patients
during the day, and one nurse for every seven patients at night. This will
ensure that we can manage safe and sustainable workloads for our staff, and it
means we will deliver better patient outcomes for Western Australians as well.
We are very proud of the work we are doing in relation to nurse-to-patient
ratios. It is only ever Labor governments that invest in our workforce, because
we understand how important that is. We know that staff are the most important
part of our health system. We know that they are delivering high-quality care
every day. We are here to support them to ensure that, together, we deliver
improved patient outcomes, and that is what we are doing.
question and for her excellent work in her community. We are very proud of the
work we are doing to invest record amounts in our health system. Because of
that, we have been able to deliver more than 900 new beds to the system and we
have also increased our staff. The member will be happy to hear that as of July
this year, we have now added over 5,000 extra nurses and 1,900 additional doctors
to our health system since 2021. That is because we know how important staff—the
people who work in it—are to our system. Again, I want to acknowledge
the incredible work they do every year to deliver high-quality care for Western
Australians.
It is because of our commitment
to staff and the people who work in the health system that we have delivered on
our commitment to roll out nurse-to-patient and midwife-to-patient ratios. This
is something that the Australian Nursing Federation has been asking for for
years, but it has taken a Labor government to deliver it. Ratios have already
been successfully introduced at the Perth Children's Hospital emergency
department and at wards in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Osborne Park Hospital,
with the initial evaluation showing encouraging outcomes for both patients and
staff, as we would expect. To continue that rollout, in the last budget we
invested over $20 million to support an additional 160 FTEs. This will support
rolling out ratios to general medical and surgical wards right across the
metropolitan area, with further rollouts beyond that to be taken in a staged
way. Under these new ratios, there will be one nurse for every four patients
during the day, and one nurse for every seven patients at night. This will
ensure that we can manage safe and sustainable workloads for our staff, and it
means we will deliver better patient outcomes for Western Australians as well.
We are very proud of the work we are doing in relation to nurse-to-patient
ratios. It is only ever Labor governments that invest in our workforce, because
we understand how important that is. We know that staff are the most important
part of our health system. We know that they are delivering high-quality care
every day. We are here to support them to ensure that, together, we deliver
improved patient outcomes, and that is what we are doing.
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