July 2, 2022

ratios and skill mix

Mental Health receives long-awaited ratios attention

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Tears of gratitude have filled the eyes of experienced mental health nurses today, following NSW Labor’s announcement it would introduce nursing ratios into 37 adult acute inpatient mental health units across the state, if elected to government on 23 March.

Recognising the significance of dedicated mental health nursing ratios, Brett Holmes, General Secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA), immediately welcomed NSW Labor’s election commitment and encouraged the Liberal-Nationals coalition to follow suit.

“Not only would this make a huge difference to the working lives of so many mental health nurses, it would vastly improve the safe levels of care afforded to patients receiving treatment within these settings,” said Mr Holmes.

“It’s no secret adult acute inpatient mental health units around the state are challenging environments to work in.

“Patient safety and the safety of staff should be paramount in these units and that’s only possible if you have the right nurse-to-patient ratios in place and enough staff to conduct vital patient assessments.

“For too long our mental health nurses have had to struggle with ongoing understaffing, excessive workloads and poor skill mix issues.

“Mental health nurses are burning out under the pressure and they are already in short supply. Introducing nurse-to-patient ratios will also encourage more nurses to work in mental health.

“It’s a credit to the current Labor leadership for recognising the systemic issues plaguing our mental health services in NSW and for beginning the task of righting this wrong.”

Mr Holmes said Labor’s pledge would deliver nurse-to-patient ratios of 1:4 on morning and afternoon shifts, and 1:7 on night shifts, as well as an in charge nurse in addition across all shifts.

“Observations are a critical element in adult acute inpatient mental health units,” Mr Holmes said.

“Under Labor’s promise, additional mental health nurses would be required to ensure those patients on level one observations receive one-to-one care. While patients requiring level two observations would receive one-to-two care.

“These new nurse-to-patient ratios would apply as a minimum across the entire adult acute inpatient mental health unit and, importantly, would be consistent for regional and metropolitan sites.”

Mr Holmes said reliable, more transparent nurse-to-patient ratios were urgently needed across the state to help deliver safe care to patients and reiterated calls for the Liberal-Nationals coalition to match NSW Labor’s promise.

Download this media release: Mental Health receives long-awaited ratios attention

Still doing nothing for patient safety, Mr Maguire

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Nurses and midwives have delivered a scathing rebuke to state Member for Wagga Wagga, Daryl Maguire, over comments he made following a tour of Wagga Wagga Base Hospital.

Last week, members of the local NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Wagga Wagga Branch raised genuine understaffing, workload and skill mix concerns across multiple wards and units at the hospital.

General Secretary of the NSWNMA, Brett Holmes, said nurses and midwives had taken umbrage with the local MP’s comments and agreed they were typical of someone out of touch with their community.

“Wagga Wagga nurses and midwives have been calling for improved nurse-to-patient ratios for the past seven years to no avail, thanks to the current state government,” Mr Holmes said.

“Mr Maguire’s comments last Friday suggest he too has had his head in the sand and is oblivious to the actual staffing issues occurring locally.

“Hospital management has since conceded there are issues present at the hospital, including the overuse of unfunded surge beds, which has had flow-on implications for nursing staff.

“We would suggest Mr Maguire allocates some time to meet with the local nurses and midwives Branch to understand the issues comprehensively, rather than shooting off disingenuous comments in the media.”

Members of the NSWNMA’s Wagga Wagga Base Hospital Branch said they were proud to advocate on behalf of local patients to secure the safest care possible and would continue to campaign for improved nurse-to-patient ratios at the hospital.

Download this media release: Still_doing_nothing_for_patient_safety_Mr_Maguire

Wagga Wagga nurses and midwives fed up with broken public system

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Nurses and midwives gathered in their own time outside Wagga Wagga Base Hospital this afternoon (Wednesday 11 April) to highlight the pressures they are under, as a result of understaffing, increased workloads and poor skill mix issues across the facility.

As part of a statewide push for more a transparent nurse-to-patient Ratio rostering system, members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Wagga Wagga Hospital Branch will discuss how the current system has hindered the safe care provided to local patients.

NSWNMA Organiser, Zoe-Anne Guinea, said the situation had become untenable, particularly with nursing staff constantly pressured to work overtime and part-time staff rostered extra shifts to cover shortfalls.

“Short staffing is a major issue across the state, but here at Wagga Wagga it’s been compounded by the regular opening of unfunded beds in a number of the specialty units,” said Ms Guinea.

“These are extra beds that are supposed to be used periodically when demand increases, yet we know many surge beds are constantly opened despite the Local Health District not allocating enough nursing staff to cover them safely. It’s unsafe for patients and it’s unsafe for staff.”

Wagga Wagga Branch members said they were fed up with the state government’s inaction towards improving nurse-to-patient Ratios or adequately addressing growing demand on the public health system.

Branch members took the opportunity to call on the Berejiklian Government to put Wagga Wagga Base Hospital patients first and commit to a safe, more accountable nurse-to-patient Ratios system.

Carnell Report: All talk, no action on safe staffing levels

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The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is disappointed that the Carnell Report acknowledges that inadequate staffing levels are compromising the care being provided to elderly nursing home residents, yet fails to deliver any real workforce solutions to fix the crisis in aged care.

ANMF Assistant Federal Secretary Annie Butler said although the Report includes some useful recommendations for improvements in the aged care sector, it simply does not go far enough in addressing the urgent need for mandated, safe staffing levels and skill mix in Australian nursing homes.

“Yet again, it’s all talk, no action,” Ms Butler said today.

“The Report acknowledges that the ‘lack of staff in nursing homes was a major contributor to the number of complaints around quality of care’ and that nurses and carers are overworked and suffering from low morale, with ‘strong support for mandatory staff ratios’.

“What’s disappointing is that despite all the evidence in front of it, the Report makes no recommendations on the urgent need for mandated staffing levels, and the importance of safe staffing levels in the provision of quality care for residents and their aged care experience.

“We know across the country, Australia’s aged care residents receive far less care than they should, on average – each resident is getting 90 minutes less care per day than they need. And the reason they are not getting the care they need is simply because there are not enough staff, there are not enough nurses and there are not enough carers.

“With no mandatory minimum staffing levels in aged care, it’s up to providers to determine what ‘adequate’ staffing levels are, and as we’ve seen, more and more operators aren’t choosing to employ enough staff. At the same time, increasing fees are going to aged care providers directly from the pockets of elderly residents, which is why the ANMF insists that any new funding to the sector is tied to the provision of personal, nursing and clinical care. We do not support additional funding without accountability.

“We find it ironic that on the day the Carnell Report was released, almost 400 aged care nurses and carers from Victorian Bupa facilities attended the first statewide private rally against a for-profit aged care employer in Victoria, following an unprecedented 23 days of protected industrial action against the provider for not committing to safe staffing levels.

“From the ANMF’s perspective, the remedy for aged care is simple – the Government must introduce safe staffing legislation that guarantees that providers must use taxpayers’ money to provide proper, safe care for elderly residents by employing enough staff, rather than boosting their bottom line.

“No more talk, it’s time to act.”

The ANMF, with 270,000 members, is the industrial and professional voice for nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing in
Australia.

Nurses and midwives ask Dubbo MP for support

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Dubbo nurses and midwives are continuing their campaign for improved nurse-to-patient ratios throughout Dubbo Base Hospital, meeting yesterday with local MP, Troy Grant, to hand over more than 10,000 petition signatures from rural and regional areas.

Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Dubbo Base Hospital Branch have been calling on the state government to expand nurse-to-patient ratios to ensure a safe and reliable public health system.

NSWNMA Organiser, Katrina Lee, said local branch members took the opportunity to highlight their growing concerns with Mr Grant during a meeting at his Dubbo office on Monday afternoon.

“There have been ongoing skill mix and workloads issues at the hospital and our local branch is seeking additional nursing/midwifery education staff to ensure all nurses working across all shifts are appropriately skilled to deliver safe patient care,” Ms Lee said.

“As part of our long-running statewide ratios campaign, Dubbo branch members are also calling for ratios of 1:3 within the emergency department and improved nurse-to-patient ratios across all intensive care and critical care units.

“At the end of the day, it’s wonderful to have a redeveloped public hospital but unless the facility is staffed adequately to meet the growing demands of Dubbo and the surrounding regions, our members will continue to be pushed to the limit.

“The evidence is clear: ratios save lives and make good economic sense. The state government can afford to do this and we’re asking the Member for Dubbo to relay this message to the Health Minister.”

For the past six years, the NSWNMA has been lobbying the NSW Ministry of Health for improved and expanded nurse-to-patient ratios across the state to no avail.

Ms Lee said Dubbo nurses and midwives would continue raising community awareness of the issue to garner local support.

“It took strike action and bed closures in 2011 to get the state government to listen to us and secure some ratios initially, however there are still many rural hospitals and important specialty areas, such as emergency departments, that don’t have them,” said Ms Lee.

Download this media release: Nurses and midwives ask Dubbo MP for support

Hospital upgrades promised while calls for better staffing ignored

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The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) has expressed disappointment in the NSW Government for failing to expand nurse-to-patient ratios in today’s state budget.

Acting General Secretary of the NSWNMA, Judith Kiejda, said with a $4.5 billion budget surplus, the NSW Government was being irresponsible for not addressing workload issues currently plaguing public hospitals.

“When is this government going to listen to the frontline nurses and midwives in our public hospitals and provide them with the support they need to do their daily jobs – to safely care for the sick, injured, elderly and to deliver our precious newborns?” Ms Kiejda questioned.

“Of course we welcome the overall 4.8 per cent increase in health funding allocated in today’s budget however, it ignores the long-term planning necessary to address growing demand on health services and the safe staffing levels that are required,” said Ms Kiejda.

“The government must invest in additional staffing now to tackle projected population growth and the increased pressure this will put on public health services into the future.

“There’s also growing concerns throughout our hospitals about inadequate support for junior staff who are trying to enhance their skills on the job.

“Today’s funding for increased emergency department attendances is welcome but the harsh reality is unless this government implements a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio, such as 1:3 in emergency departments, nurses in these departments will continue to be run off their feet, stressed and burnt out.

“The research is in: ratios save lives, deliver better health outcomes and make good economic sense.

“The best way for this government to make a difference to the lives of NSW citizens is by ensuring they can be treated promptly and safely by nursing staff when they present to an emergency department. Introducing ratios will help to achieve this.

“An extra 55 specialist nurses and midwives across the state is great, but when that figure is divided among 15 Local Health Districts it just doesn’t go far enough.”

Ms Kiejda said the additional funding for mental health services and community based services was welcome, along with dedicated funding for palliative care services and specialised palliative nurses.

Ms Kiejda said it was also imperative the state government was more open and transparent with the communities of Bowral, Maitland, Shellharbour and Wyong regarding its intentions for their public hospitals.

“Bowral, Maitland and Shellharbour Hospitals all received $5 million in additional redevelopment funds – Wyong has been allocated $10 million – yet a proposed public-private partnership model for each of these sites remains a possibility,” Ms Kiejda said.

“The people of Bowral, Maitland, Shellharbour, Wyong and all of their surrounding areas deserve to know if they will continue to have access to a publicly run hospital.”

The NSWNMA has confirmed it will continue to campaign for improved and expanded nurse to patient ratios throughout the state’s public hospital system.

Download this media release: Hospital upgrades promised while calls for better staffing ignored