Emergency departments gear up for staff reforms

Recruitment will shortly get underway for nurses as the Minns Labor Government continues deliver on its election promise to rollout a major staffing reform.

The next twelve hospitals across metropolitan and regional NSW to introduce Safe Staffing Levels in emergency departments have been announced, with the implementation of the reform set to improve the experience of patients and boost retention and capability of staff in public hospitals.

NSW Minister for Health, Ryan Park, said “The Safe Staffing Levels initiative involves the introduction of minimum staffing levels on every shift, which will result in more nurses employed in hospitals right across the state.

“The rollout began earlier this year at Liverpool, Royal North Shore, Port Macquarie Base and Lismore Base Hospitals and I’m thrilled we’re now onto the next twelve sites that will see implementation commence over coming months. Importantly, this reform will deliver improved nursing numbers to provide care for patients while supporting our frontline healthcare staff.”

The NSW Opposition has recently attacked the Minns Government for its health funding cuts, accusing it of plunging the state’s hospital system into chaos and triggering an emergency department crisis.

From January to March, NSW emergency departments were swamped with 810,201 attendances, a staggering 5.2% increase from the same period last year and the highest quarterly figure since the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) began reporting in 2010. Of those, 192,874 patients arrived by ambulance, marking a 7.0% surge and setting another grim record.

Health Minister Park has deflected responsibility, pointing to commonwealth funding arrangements beyond his control. He blamed the escalating emergency department visits and ambulance call-outs on a dire lack of access to general practitioners (GPs).

The next hospitals to commence rollout of Safe Staffing Levels in emergency departments in the coming weeks and months include:

• Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital
• Campbelltown Hospital
• The Children’s Hospital at Westmead
• Coffs Harbour Hospital
• Gosford Hospital
• John Hunter Hospital
• Nepean Hospital
• Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
• St George Hospital
• Tamworth Hospital
• Wagga Wagga Hospital
• Wollongong Hospital

The staffing reforms 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 ED treatment spaces and ED short-stay unit beds on all shifts.

The Safe Staffing Levels Taskforce will continue to oversee the rollout of the government’s commitment of 2480 FTE over four years (to June 2027) towards staffing levels.

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