43 more nurses start at Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals over past week
The struggling Top End health system has been given a shot in the arm, with nearly 50 more nurses starting work in just the past week.
Northern Territory
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THE struggling Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals have been given a shot in the arm, with 43 more nurses starting work in the Top End this week.
Another five nurses will also begin upskilling to specialise in mental health care, in a bid to help ease pressure on the department.
The extra recruits come after months of short-staffing across the Top End’s hospital system, with nursing shortages causing the Palmerston Regional Hospital to shed a third of its emergency beds.
The Australian Nurses and Midwifery Union had previously estimated the RDH and PRD were short-staffed between 50 and 100 nursing staff.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the new recruits were found through “priority recruitment”.
“We value the fantastic work of our frontline health workers including nurses, doctors and medical practitioners during this pandemic and will continue to back them to provide the best possible healthcare for Territorians,” Ms Fyles said.
“Our main focus is to fill nursing positions in the psychiatry, emergency and perioperative fields.”
The 43 new nurses are in addition to an expanded 200 graduate nurse intake being planned for early 2022.
“NT Health will continue to engage in ongoing recruitment campaigns to recruit more health workers in the Territory,” Ms Fyles said.
The extra staffing will come as a relief to existing frontline workers at the RDH, who have been struggling with major staffing shortfalls.
The NT News in recent weeks has campaigned for solutions to fix the health crisis.
Australian Medical Association president Dr Robert Parker welcomed the news of more recruits.
“The more nurses the better,” Dr Parker said.
“Nurse shortages have been a significant part of the pressure, so very happy that more are being employed.
“43 is good, more is better, so continue the recruitment process and further training processes for specialist areas such as mental health.”
The Territory’s crises come amid nationwide concern about a skills shortage of nurses and doctors due to international border closures.
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