Crisis call to recruit retired nurses

NSW Health wants to expand the number of retired nurses it is ­permitted to draw upon to bolster its struggling workforce, as surging daily case numbers drive up hospitalisations.

Hundreds of people waiting to receive their Covid-19 vaccinations at the Sydney Olympic Park hub in Homebush on Sunday. Picture: Richard Dobson

NSW Health wants to expand the number of retired nurses it is ­permitted to draw upon to bolster its struggling workforce, as surging daily case numbers drive up hospitalisations and strain intensive care units struggling with fewer staff.

The Australian has learned the department has initiated talks to extend its use of retiree nurses to allow those who have left the workforce over the past decade to help with the demands of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It follows Sunday’s announcement of a record 1218 cases detected in NSW and the deaths of six people, among them two men and a woman in their 80s, and three men in their 70s.

Currently, only nurses whose registrations have lapsed in the past three years have been permitted to return to the workforce, ­according to guidelines signed by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

The move to expand this pool of retirees and non-practising nurses is a response to nursing shortages in intensive care units, driven largely by staff requiring time off due to Covid-19 exposure. Another reason is because nurses are being used to staff the state’s mass vaccination hubs.

Statistics released by NSW Health indicate there are 1273 healthcare workers in isolation due to Covid-19 exposure.

The workforce shortage has left some hospitals in crisis, with ­ambulances diverted to alternative locations and long queues forming at these locations.

To alleviate this pressure, private hospitals have stopped non-urgent elective surgery so they can provide relief staff to assist with the ongoing NSW government pandemic response.

Rising daily case numbers have seen a steady increase in patients requiring care. On Friday 767 ­people were said to be receiving treatment in hospitals but by Sunday this number had risen to 813, with 126 people in intensive care and 54 on ventilators.

These numbers are expected to grow further in the coming weeks as the state moves to ease mobility restrictions in line with its vaccination coverage rates of 70 and 80 per cent across NSW.

Approximately 66 per cent of people in NSW have received their first vaccination dose, with 35.8 per cent fully immunised.

Experienced nursing staff have also been seconded to assist with the state’s vaccination program, a factor that has compounded the workforce shortages in ICU facilities, according to Brett Holmes, the general secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association.

Mr Holmes added that while NSW Health had sought to ­replace the nurses at these hubs with undergraduates drawn from healthcare disciplines, this had not happened in great numbers and remains a priority.

“There’s a split need here,” Mr Holmes said.

“We need the community vaccinated, and we need people in our hospitals. So getting that right is what they’re trying to do at the moment. This has been a challenge for some weeks.”

Mr Holmes added that he was aware of plans to expand the pool of retired nurses to include those who had left the workforce over the past 10 years. The decision would be one for the AHPRA and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia to adjudicate.

Consideration would have to be given to whether these prospective nurses were suitable to participate given their shortage of clinical hours and the length of time they had spent away from the workforce, he said.

“Those are hurdles that need to be addressed and understood, so that’s a discussion still under way,” Mr Holmes said.

“But they’re certainly looking to pull out all stops to get staff on. They’re preparing for the worst … worse than where we are now.”

A NSW Health spokeswoman said the former healthcare professionals would be limited to performing “vaccination tasks and drawing up vaccines”.

“NSW Health is considering a proposal for previously registered health professionals (including nurses) who retired or whose registration lapsed between 3 and 10 years ago to return to the health system as vaccination workers to assist in our vaccination hubs,” the spokeswoman said.

A spokeswoman for the AHPRA said the agency and its national boards were “working closely with governments and health services to address health workforce needs that may arise from the pandemic”.