Burnout: Overworked and underpaid nurses ready to quit

More than half the nurses who responded to a new union survey say they plan to leave the profession in the next five years due to burnout.

An exodus of tired and overworked nurses looms, sparking calls for action after a survey revealed the extent of burnout and fatigue.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state branch survey of 3000 workers found almost 70 per cent of nurses and midwives reported working unpaid overtime.

A quarter said they were working double shifts, while at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network the figure rose to more than a third of respondents.

More than half — 56 per cent — said they plan to leave nursing within the next five years.

It followed an early survey which showed SA nurses are the most emotionally exhausted in the nation.

Federation state secretary Adj Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars said SA is facing a generational loss of younger nurses and midwives because of the pressure on them.

She warned that some tired nurses are working on “autopilot”.

“We have grave concerns for workforce capacity in the future which is intrinsically linked to burnout and fatigue as evidenced in the survey results,’’ Ms Dabars said.

“Health Workforce Australia in 2014 projected a shortfall of approximately 85,000 nurses/ midwives by 2025, and 123,000 nurses/ midwives by 2030.’

“There is no active work being undertaken to build the future nursing and midwifery workforce at the levels and with the skills that our community will need.”

The chronic issue of fatigue and burnout amongst nurses and midwives has never been in such urgent need with a new @ANMFSA survey revealing almost a staggering 70% of nurses and midwives reported working unpaid overtime, with 25% working double shifts: https://t.co/fSAHlxwEygpic.twitter.com/XetJ5a5diP

— Nurses/Midwives SA (@ANMFSA) September 13, 2021

While the pandemic has added to pressures in the health system, Ms Dabars accused the state government and SA Health of being “asleep at the wheel” in recruiting and retaining nurses and midwives.

“We have clear shortages in areas such as mental health, critical care, emergency nursing, peri-operative care and midwifery,” she said.

“Country areas have the additional disadvantage of trying to recruit in these areas of shortage with few additional incentives to offer. If the State Government yet again fails to act on these significant survey results, then we are most certainly facing a major health crisis in the very near future.

The results of the survey have been sent to the chief executives of SA Health and all local health networks, urging them to take action.

Premier Steven Marshall said the increased workload on healthcare workers was a phenomenon around the world, driven by the pandemic, and praised nurses for their efforts.

“We are massively recruiting at the moment,” he said.

“There is a huge workload and we are doing everything we can to bring people into this sector and to bring back people into the sector.

“Our nurses in South Australia, like all our health professionals, have done an outstanding job keeping the state safe, they have had to work long hours with increased workload requirements.”

SA Health has been contacted for a response.