❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Premier about reports of nurse contract terminations in the South West amidst ongoing nurse recruitment efforts. The Premier denies terminations, attributing the issue to administrative errors and highlighting workforce growth.
AnsweredQoN 92Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WA COUNTRY HEALTH
SERVICE — NURSES
92. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the outrageous report
this morning that up to 90 nurses at south west hospitals have had their
contracts terminated due to a budgetary decision made by the WA Country Health
Service executive.
(1) How is it
possible that the Department of Health or WACHS can terminate staff at the same
time as the Minister for Health has flown to recruit staff from overseas due to
extreme shortages?
(2) Have any
staff at other regional hospitals had their contracts terminated due to similar
issues?
SERVICE — NURSES
92. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the outrageous report
this morning that up to 90 nurses at south west hospitals have had their
contracts terminated due to a budgetary decision made by the WA Country Health
Service executive.
(1) How is it
possible that the Department of Health or WACHS can terminate staff at the same
time as the Minister for Health has flown to recruit staff from overseas due to
extreme shortages?
(2) Have any
staff at other regional hospitals had their contracts terminated due to similar
issues?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for the question. It gives me an opportunity to provide some
clarity and perhaps a bit of truth about the situation. The fact is that, as a result
of some administrative errors, when some casual nurses went to clock on at the
beginning of their shift, they found that they were no longer in the system
and, essentially, it appeared that their contracts were terminated. Obviously,
that is not the case. We want all nurses and we value them, particularly those
who work in our regional communities. That situation has been rectified and those nurses continue to work within our service.
We want to welcome more nurses to our system. Since 2017, the health
budget has grown by 33 per cent and our nurse workforce has grown by over 4 000, including 1 600 additional doctors. The health
workforce generally has grown by 30 per cent; however, that does not
mean that we will not have challenges into the future.
We have an ageing population and an
escalation of chronic disease within our community, and we will need to make
sure that we have carers to stand by the beds of Western Australians who go to
a hospital to receive world-class health care. I commend the Minister for
Health for taking this innovative initiative, making
sure that we look at all options to attract world-class nurses, trained in a similar
style with a similar curriculum to Western Australian nurses, and
obviously, if they want to come work in one of our great hospitals right across
Western Australia, particularly in regional hospitals, we will welcome them
coming to Western Australia.
thank the member for the question. It gives me an opportunity to provide some
clarity and perhaps a bit of truth about the situation. The fact is that, as a result
of some administrative errors, when some casual nurses went to clock on at the
beginning of their shift, they found that they were no longer in the system
and, essentially, it appeared that their contracts were terminated. Obviously,
that is not the case. We want all nurses and we value them, particularly those
who work in our regional communities. That situation has been rectified and those nurses continue to work within our service.
We want to welcome more nurses to our system. Since 2017, the health
budget has grown by 33 per cent and our nurse workforce has grown by over 4 000, including 1 600 additional doctors. The health
workforce generally has grown by 30 per cent; however, that does not
mean that we will not have challenges into the future.
We have an ageing population and an
escalation of chronic disease within our community, and we will need to make
sure that we have carers to stand by the beds of Western Australians who go to
a hospital to receive world-class health care. I commend the Minister for
Health for taking this innovative initiative, making
sure that we look at all options to attract world-class nurses, trained in a similar
style with a similar curriculum to Western Australian nurses, and
obviously, if they want to come work in one of our great hospitals right across
Western Australia, particularly in regional hospitals, we will welcome them
coming to Western Australia.
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