The NSW Government has announced the establishment of the Safe Staffing Working Group to attempt to fill staff shortages in the public hospital system. 

The Safe Staffing Working Group will bring together representatives from NSW Health and the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association to chart a pathway forward on implementing this major reform.  

The group may have to answer the riddle of how to stop nurses from leaving the profession. 

A Government spokesperson told the Western Plains App the way to increase staffing levels in hospitals was to focus on nurse retention rates. 

“The Minister for Health said prior to the election that the challenge is about retention rather recruitment. So we will be looking at improving staff averages, looking at shift averages rather than weekly averages. We hope to reach a critical mass where there is enough staff that relieves pressure, and more people want to stay in this profession”. 

The Labor Party said it planned to recruit 1200 more nurses during its term of government if elected. 

Now in power, the government spokesperson said “the grads are already in the system,” and those numbers would be supported by efforts in retaining the existing nurses in the NSW health system. 

Image: Pixabay. 

NSW Premier Chris Minns said, “This is the first step to safe staffing in hospitals – ensuring there’s one nurse for every three patients in ED.

"It was one of the very first election commitments we made. 

“We must have government and representatives for our health staff working together towards this important reform.”  

The working group includes four representatives from the NSW Nurses & Midwives Association and three senior NSW Health officials, including Luke Sloane who is Coordinator General Regional Health.

The Safe Staffing Working Group will navigate the complexities of the NSW health system, including  

• The diverse workforce needs of facilities;   
• Varying patient acuity levels;   
• Differences based on time-of-day and specialty type; and  
• Nursing workforce planning and supply.  

The aim is convert the existing Nursing Hours Per Patient Day staffing requirement into minimum and enforceable Safe Staffing Levels a cement it into the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award. 

The Safe Staffing Working Group will hold its first meeting early next month and will report to NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce AM, who will provide regular updates to the NSW Minister for Health and Regional Health Ryan Park. 

At this stage there is no indication of timeframes for delivery of the new Safe Staffing levels.