A re-elected Palaszczuk Labor Government will recruit an additional 630 nurses, an extra 18 midwives and expand the Nurse Navigator program to 70 in the Metro North Hospital and Health Services (HSS).
Announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today, the commitment is part of a $167 million, four-year package to further improve health services and strengthen the frontline, including nurses and midwives, across the state’s 16 HHSs.
The Palaszczuk Government has already recruited an extra 837 full-time equivalent (FTE) nurses, 308 FTE doctors and 350 FTE health practitioners for the Metro North HHS, which is in stark contrast to the Newman-Nicholls LNP Government who cut 616 nurses, 107 doctors and 95 health practitioners from local hospitals.
If the Palaszczuk Government is re-elected on 25 November, it will commit to:
• employ an additional 630 nurses for the Metro North HHS;
• recruit an additional 18 midwives to improve maternity services and ensure all public maternity units meet recognised midwife to patient benchmarks in the Metro North HHS;
• permanently extend our Nurse Navigator program to 70 in the Metro North HHS;
• expand safe nurse-to-patient ratios to acute public mental health wards;
• introduce public reporting on safe staff to patient ratios in aged care settings;
• lobby the Commonwealth Government to introduce staff-to-resident ratios, including nurse-to-resident ratios, in private aged care facilities;
• maintain the Nurse Graduate Placement Program to ensure the nursing workforce is refreshed and grows each year; and
• harness the expertise of our nurses to lead programs to improve the coordination and integration of patient care between our hospitals and the primary care and aged care sectors.
State Member for Morayfield Mark Ryan said that only Labor could be trusted to deliver these commitments.
“Only Labor is committed to providing local people with the nurses, the doctors and the health services they need,” Mr Ryan said.
“Since being elected in 2015, we’ve worked hard to restore the frontline health services that were taken away by the Newman-Nicholls LNP Government, which sacked almost 1,400 nurses and more than 50 doctors across Queensland.
“We’ve employed more doctors, nurses and health practitioners at the Caboolture Hospital and are investing in expanding the hospital to meet the needs of the community.
“Labor has delivered an extra 32 bed ward, we’re building a new Outpatients Facility and the Emergency Department is about to be expanded, almost doubling its capacity.
“And it’s taken a Labor Government to finally deliver extra car parks at the hospital, with over 300 new spaces becoming available in the coming weeks.
“What our community cannot afford is to give Tim Nicholls and the LNP another chop at our health services.”
