Gosford Hospital is one of 12 across the state set to introduce staffing levels in emergency departments as the NSW Government continues to deliver on its major staffing reform.
The implementation of the reform is set to improve the experience of patients and boost retention and capability of staff in public hospitals.
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 and better care for patients.
The staffing boost 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 initiative will be rolled out in coming months at Gosford Hospital, along with Bankstown-Lidcombe, Campbelltown Hospital, Coffs Harbour, John Hunter, Nepean, Royal Prince Alfred, St George, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga and Wollongong hospitals, along with The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
This will bring the total number of hospitals commencing the rollout of Safe Staffing Levels to 16 across the state following the earlier announcement of Liverpool, Royal North Shore, Lismore and Port Macquarie hospitals.
The Safe Staffing Levels Taskforce, which includes key leaders from the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA), NSW Health and local health districts, will continue to work through the preparations to determine the FTE (full-time equivalent) staff required to deliver Safe Staffing Levels at the sites over coming weeks and months.
Phase one of Safe Staffing Levels is initially commencing in Level 5 and Level 6 EDs, which treat the most critically ill patients, and will then be progressively implemented across other hospitals and departments.
The Safe Staffing Levels Taskforce will continue to oversee the rollout of the government’s commitment of 2,480 FTE over four years (to June 2027) towards staffing levels.
Implementing Safe Staffing Levels is just one of a range of measures that the NSW Government is embracing to build a more supported health workforce, including: saving 1,112 nurse and midwife positions by making the roles permanent; abolishing the wages cap and delivering the highest pay increase in more than a decade for nurses and other health workers; beginning to rollout 500 additional paramedics in regional, rural and remote communities; and introducing the health worker study subsidies scheme.
Minister for Health Ryan Park said the Safe Staffing Levels initiative would result in more nurses employed in hospitals right across the state.
“I look forward to working with representatives from the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association and NSW Health as part the Safe Staffing Levels Taskforce as they review the rollout and use these experiences to help inform safe staffing levels implementation at future sites,” he said.