❓ Ms. Mettam asks about personal leave taken by registered and enrolled nurses in WA from 2017-2021, including return-to-work status and average leave length. The response provides some data but cites limitations in data collection for certain aspects.
AnsweredQoN 251Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) How many registered and enrolled nurses took personal leave of one week or more for each of the following years: (a) 2020-2021; (b) 2019-2020; (c) 2018-2019; and (d) 2017-2018? (2) For each of the above years, how many: (a) Returned to work in the same role; (b) Returned to work in a different role or different workplace within the Department of Health; and (c) Subsequently resigned from the Department of Health? (3) For each of the above years, what was the average length of approved personal leave? (4) How many registered and enrolled nurses are currently on approved personal leave of one week or more?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 February 2022
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
11 days
Department of Health employees are entitled to personal leave for several reasons. Staff may work across multiple Health Service Providers therefore the totals outlined below may not add up due to the distinct count of the employees.
(1)(a)-(d) Please refer to the table below for registered and enrolled nurse headcounts and proportions taking one week or more personal leave, by financial year.
Financial year
Enrolled Nurses
Registered Nurses
2020-21
1,244
11,782
2019-20
1,107
10,624
2018-19
1,142
10,481
2017-18
1,090
10,120
Note: One week of personal leave was defined as standard working hours, being five working days at 7.6 hours per day (i.e.: 38 hours total).
(2)(a)-(b) The Department of Health does not capture this data centrally. Provision of the information sought by the Member would require a significant amount of research which would divert WA Health staff away from their normal duties. If the Member has a specific inquiry I will endeavour to provide a reply.
(3) Please refer to the table below for average length (in days) of personal leave per headcount (registered and enrolled nurses only) from 2017-18 to 2020-21.
Financial year
Average length (in days) of personal leave per headcount
2020-21
11.46
2019-20
10.74
2018-19
10.89
2017-18
11.00
(4) WA Health is unable to provide a response to this question, primarily as the length of leave and reasons for requiring personal leave are generally recorded retrospectively in HR systems.
(1)(a)-(d) Please refer to the table below for registered and enrolled nurse headcounts and proportions taking one week or more personal leave, by financial year.
Financial year
Enrolled Nurses
Registered Nurses
2020-21
1,244
11,782
2019-20
1,107
10,624
2018-19
1,142
10,481
2017-18
1,090
10,120
Note: One week of personal leave was defined as standard working hours, being five working days at 7.6 hours per day (i.e.: 38 hours total).
(2)(a)-(b) The Department of Health does not capture this data centrally. Provision of the information sought by the Member would require a significant amount of research which would divert WA Health staff away from their normal duties. If the Member has a specific inquiry I will endeavour to provide a reply.
(3) Please refer to the table below for average length (in days) of personal leave per headcount (registered and enrolled nurses only) from 2017-18 to 2020-21.
Financial year
Average length (in days) of personal leave per headcount
2020-21
11.46
2019-20
10.74
2018-19
10.89
2017-18
11.00
(4) WA Health is unable to provide a response to this question, primarily as the length of leave and reasons for requiring personal leave are generally recorded retrospectively in HR systems.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.