Ramsay Healthcare turbocharges nurse hiring spree to combat Covid-fuelled shortages

Australia’s biggest private hospital provider will recruit another 200 graduate nurses in August, bringing this year’s total to 750 as private equity circles the group.

Recruitment drive: Ramsay Health nurses Elise Jenkins and Renee Davis were deployed to Dubbo last year to help treat Covid patients in regional NSW. PIC: Nat Salloum

Australia’s biggest private hospital provider, Ramsay Healthcare, is lifting its intake of graduate nurses to 750 this year in an effort to combat a chronic staff shortage, as well as turbocharging its in-house career development program.

The ASX-listed company – which owns 72 Australian private hospitals and has extensive operations in Europe, the UK and Asia – launched an undergraduate cadetship program on Thursday to tap into talent at tertiary level.

It will offer registered and enrolled nursing students support throughout their studies and a “guaranteed” graduate interview.

The pandemic has exacerbated a national nurse shortage, which is expected to widen to 85,000 by 2025. Competition for talent is also expected to intensify when all aged care homes must have a registered nurse on duty 24/7, as recommended by the aged care royal commission.

It comes as Ramsay – which is currently the target of a $20bn takeover by a KKR-led consortium that includes the nurses industry superannuation fund HESTA – recruited 550 graduate nurses in February, a record and 25 per cent increase on the previous year.

The company expects to recruit an additional 200 graduate nurses in August, bringing this year’s total to more than 700.

Ramsay Health Care Australia chief executive, Carmel Monaghan, said shortages in clinical workforces was one of the “biggest challenges facing hospitals in Australia and around the world”.

Recruiting nurses has been challenging in the past three years, with pandemic-led international border closures shutting access to skilled migration.

Access to nurses is critical, given staff shortages will limit Ramsay’s ability to complete a backlog of procedures from elective surgery bans, which have so far – combined with Covid costs – have wiped off $196.2m of the group’s earnings, including $89.2m in the three months to March 31.

Ramsay is also in a bitter funding dispute with Bupa, issuing the health insurer a contract termination notice after the pair failed to reach a new agreement. Health insurers are the prime source of funding to private hospitals, providing capital needed to meet nurse pay rises and other healthcare costs, which have increased up to 7 per cent in the past two years.

“We’re lucky to have some of the best nurses in the country and we are committed to prioritising initiatives to grow and strengthen our workforce,” Ms Monaghan said.

“We want to help our people develop and build their nursing and midwifery careers with Ramsay.”

Ramsay chief nurse and clinical services director Bernadette Eather, said the company would also create a leadership pathway program for nurse unit manager (NUM) roles – the most senior nurses on wards.

“Ramsay Health Care nurses are committed to providing excellent health care for their patients, and we’re committed to helping them grow their skills and excel in their nursing careers,” Dr Eather said.

“The NUM Leadership Pathway Program will provide professional development, mentorship and leadership training opportunities to our entire Australian cohort of nurse and midwifery unit managers – which totals more than 500 people. These frontline leaders play a critical role in patient care while also serving as people and business managers.

“We have also created the Undergraduate Cadetship Program, which is designed to support enrolled and registered nursing cadets during their undergraduate studies, offering them relevant employment opportunities and a guaranteed graduate interview on completion of their studies”.