Palaszczuk Government to announce boost to frontline health jobs if it wins another term
The Queensland Labor Government is set to announce a boost to frontline health jobs if it wins another term of government. Here’s what we know so far.
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The Palaszczuk Government is expected to make an announcement on increasing frontline health jobs on Sunday as part of a state election pledge.
It comes as a Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union poll of more than 1000 people finds 54 per cent say the promise of new health care jobs will likely sway their vote on October 31.
Almost two-thirds of those polled supported the union’s push to have nurse-to-patient ratios in Queensland’s emergency departments.
The Palaszczuk Government introduced nurse-to-patient ratios in medical and surgical wards in 2016, mandating how many patients can safely be allocated to a single nurse, a policy the QNMU says saves lives.
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QNMU secretary Beth Mohle said while the LNP had told the union they had no plans to expand nurse-to-patient ratios “at this stage”, she was still waiting to hear back from Labor.
“For us, workloads and job security are two top issues for our members,” she said.
“You don’t get better healthcare with less nurses and midwives.
“The areas that we’ve got the most demand in terms of workload concerns are emergency departments, maternity services, operating theatres and offender health services.”
The QNMU commissioned an online poll of 1018 adult Queenslanders, conducted by Essential Research.
“Quality healthcare is a critical issue for our members, but this poll shows it’s also a critical issue for the community,” Ms Mohle said.
“The community want to see a vision for how we’re going to do healthcare into the future and it does have to be done differently.
“We need to do things, such as having community-based, nurse-led clinics to keep people out of hospital.”
A Queensland Government announcement on boosting the frontline health workforce is expected on Sunday.
