840 New Nurses: Nurse-To-Patie Nt Ratios
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840 New Nurses: NURSE-TO-PATIE NT RATIOS A Foley Labor Government will introduce nurse-to-patient ratios into emergency departments and paediatric wards – in the first term of government. This means NSW Labor will employ 840 new nurses – comprising 735 additional nurses in emergency departments and 105 additional nurses in paediatric wards. This will benefit 75 emergency department and paediatric wards in NSW hospitals. Under the model, there will be one nurse for every three patients in: • Every A, B and C peer group hospital emergency department in NSW; and • Every A, B and C peer group hospital paediatric ward in the state. In addition, there will be one nurse for every resuscitation bed in emergency departments. This will be done within the first term of a Labor Government. The policy will cost an estimated $96 million over the forward estimates. In addition, a Foley Labor Government will legislate to enshrine nurse-to-patient ratios in law – for the first time in NSW. This will require future governments and health officials to ensure that nurse numbers are protected by law and cannot be traded away. The policy will result in more nurses in emergency departments and paediatric wards to improve patient care, save lives and reduce waiting times. It is about taking the pressure off staff and patients in our State’s over-stretched emergency departments and providing more care for children in our paediatric wards across NSW. We value the extraordinary work of our State’s hardworking nurses and midwives. NSW Labor has a strong record of supporting nurses, and we understand that nurses are best placed to know what staffing levels are needed to provide safe and efficient care. Nurse staffing ratios represent the minimum number of nurses that can safely care for patients. They ensure a base number of nurses are rostered on duty, and require any absence from the roster to be replaced or filled by an employee of the same classification to ensure the quality of patient safety and care. Ratios safeguard the amount of time each nurse can spend caring for each of their patients. In the future, a Foley Labor Government would aim to undertake a progressive program to improve nurse-to-patient ratios in our State’s smaller rural and regional hospitals. anewapproach.com.au 840 New Nurses: NURSE-TO-PATIENT RATIOS bacKGROUND A Foley Labor Government will ensure patients in NSW public hospitals receive the best possible care by increasing the number of nurses in emergency departments and paediatric wards through legislated nurse-to-patient ratios. NSW Labor values our hardworking, professional nurses and recognises that more nurses mean improved patient care and lives saved. This is why a Foley Labor Government will employ 735 additional emergency department nurses and 105 additional paediatric nurses. Nurses provide continuous care to the patient and can quickly notice any deterioration in a patient and initiate treatment, as they are often the first point of contact in the hospital system. Nurses are at the patient’s bedside – but if their workloads are too high, they are unable to attend to patients early enough or often enough. A recent European study published in the Lancet medical journal found that every patient added to a nurse’s workload increases the risk of death within a month of surgery by seven per cent.1 Numerous other studies have pointed to the link between higher nursing staff levels and reduced adverse outcomes for the patient. If nurses have to care for fewer patients, they can devote more time to each patient, which results in safer patient care. More emergency room nurses mean improved emergency room waiting times for patients, an improvement in the standard of care for patients, and a safer environment for our nurses. Unfortunately, we have recently seen unacceptably long waiting times in emergency departments across the state. A Foley Labor Government is committed to reducing emergency department waiting times by increasing the number of nurses. Paediatric nurses perform the important role of caring for our children when they are sick. Every parent values their work. While the health and well-being of the patients is always the primary concern, better patient outcomes also reduces the cost to the state. On a single day in NSW, 6,500 people are seen in our emergency departments. In 2013-14, there were 2.65 million emergency department attendances. __________________________ 1 http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/26/nurse-cutbacks-death-rates-data-staffing anewapproach.com.au 840 New Nurses: NURSE-TO-PATIENT RATIOS As of December 2014, there were 43,899 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) nurses and midwives employed in the NSW public health system. Over the last four years, the number of nurses has increased due to policy decisions made by the Keneally Labor Government. In The Lamp, Liberal Health Minister Mrs Jillian Skinner conceded that any increase in nurses was due to: “the nursing hours per patient day formula agreed by the union and the Labor Government just before the 2011 election.”2 POLICY SCOPE: A Foley Labor Government will support and increase the number of nurses in NSW to improve patient care, save lives and reduce waiting times, which includes legislated nurse-to- patient ratios. The key feature will be to employ more nurses in emergency departments and paediatric wards in NSW. More Nurses A Labor Government will employ more nurses in emergency departments and paediatric wards to improve patient care, save lives and reduce waiting times. NSW Labor will employ more than 735 additional emergency department nurses and more than 105 additional paediatric nurses. This will be delivered through the Nursing Hours Per Patient day model. Nursing hours per patient day is the average minimum number of hours of direct nursing care that each patient receives per day. This policy would mean more nurses for 75 hospital emergency departments and paediatric wards. The additional nurses mean that NSW Labor will bring nurse ratios to one nurse for every three patients in every emergency department and paediatric ward in the State in A, B and C Peer Group Hospitals. It also includes one nurse for every resuscitation bed in emergency departments. This will ensure patients receive the same standard of care regardless of where they are treated. Nurse staffing ratios ensure a base number of nurses are rostered on duty, and requires any absence from the roster to be replaced or filled by an employee of the same classification, to ensure the quality of patient safety and care. __________________________ 2 The Lamp, March 2015 anewapproach.com.au 840 New Nurses: NURSE-TO-PATIENT RATIOS Some of the hospitals which will benefit include: For emergency departments: Bankstown Hospital, Belmont Hospital, Blacktown Hospital, Campbelltown Hospital, John Hunter Hospital, Maitland Hospital, Mount Druitt Hospital, Shoalhaven Hospital, Westmead Hospital, Wyong Hospital and Wollongong Hospital. For paediatric wards: Bega Hospital, Bankstown Hospital, Campbelltown Hospital, Canterbury Hospital, Fairfield Hospital, Goulburn Hospital, Gosford Hospital, Lismore Hospital, Maitland Hospital, Nepean Hospital, Sutherland Hospital, St George Hospital, Tweed Hospital. Legislation A Foley Labor Government will legislate nurse-to-patient ratios. Enshrining the ratios in law will give nurses security and ensure that no future government can try to cut the existing ratios. These laws mean nurses will not have to fight for safe ratios in future negotiations. The Victorian and Queensland Labor Governments have indicated they intend to legislate nurse-to-patient ratios. anewapproach.com.au.