Skills Shortages
Nursing shortage now reaching critical levels across rural regions
By Angela Roche
2/07/2008 8:39:00 AM
THE North West is among the regions affected by an increasing shortage of nursing staff.
Reports by Sydney media on the weekend claimed that by 2012 the State could have a shortage of 10,000 nurses.
Citing leaked health documents, reports said there were currently 1000 vacancies, with the number of extra nurses needed predicted to rise.
The State proposal was to fill the gap by recruiting nurses from overseas.
"We simply cannot attract senior, experienced staff," Nurses Association branch secretary Rozlyn Norman said.
Ms Norman, a nurse at Tamworth Hospital, said the problems with filling vacant nursing positions was not limited to the North-West and New England.
"We need to look at ways of attracting people to a rural area," she said.
"We’re having great difficulty in attracting registered nurses at all to rural areas.
"Just before last Christmas we advertised nationally and didn’t get any response whatever.
"We’re gradually getting a few here and there, but definitely nowhere near the level of registered nurses that we need.
"Nurse managers are being very creative in filling vacancies, but we have to be very careful that the skill mix is still appropriate."
Ms Norman said she hoped to see incentives to entice nurses who have left the system back to hospitals.
"I’m not sure exactly what can be done, but possibly offering an experienced nurse rate, which (is the plan) the association is hoping to take to the Industrial Relations Commission," she said.
She said increased workloads and staffing shortages could have a follow-on effect, as nurses left due to increasing workloads.
This would in turn increase the pressure on remaining staff, Ms Norman said.
"There has to be some incentive for them," she said.
