newy.com.au – John Hunter, Calvary Mater and Maitland hospitals are set to receive 74 additional full-time equivalent nursing positions as the NSW government extends minimum staffing ratios from emergency departments to general wards.
The recruitment plan announced on Thursday allocates 38 positions to John Hunter, 19 to Calvary Mater and 17 to Maitland. The government said recruitment would begin soon.
The extra staff are intended to help deliver a minimum ratio of one nurse to four patients on morning and afternoon shifts in general and specialty wards, giving nurses more support on the floor.
The three Hunter hospitals account for 74 of the 120 full-time equivalent positions announced by the government. Another 10 are allocated to Tamworth Base Hospital. The hospitals receiving the remaining 36 positions were not identified.
Health Minister Ryan Park said staffing guarantees were important to supporting nurses and easing pressure on hospitals.
“Guaranteeing the number of nurses on every shift is crucial to giving our nurses and midwives the support they need to provide world-class care to patients and relieve pressure on our hospitals.”
The ward expansion follows the first phase of the government’s Safe Staffing Levels program in emergency departments. The government said more than 990 full-time equivalent nurses had been recruited across 81 emergency departments statewide.
The next stage is expected to reach more than 360 wards at over 70 metropolitan and regional hospitals. The broader program carries a commitment to 2,480 additional full-time equivalent staff.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison said the 17 positions allocated to Maitland Hospital would support its general wards.
“Our nurses do an incredible job caring for our community, and Safe Staffing Levels will mean more support on the floor and more time to deliver the care their patients need.”
Mr Park said the government was working with the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association to implement ratios that nurses and midwives had campaigned for over more than a decade.
Thursday’s announcement did not give a firm recruitment start date or a timetable for the new ward staffing levels to be in place at individual hospitals.
