Solving Australia’s nursing crisis
The overwhelming majority of nurses, midwives and the community want the federal government to do more to solve Australia’s growing nursing crisis, according to a new national poll carried out by the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF).
The overwhelming majority of nurses, midwives and the community want the federal government to do more to solve Australia’s growing nursing crisis, according to a new national poll carried out by the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF).
The ANF conducted the online survey of members and the wider public last December as part of its ongoing national campaign “Stop passing the buck, Australia’s nursing grads need jobs”.
The campaign calls on the federal government to find solutions to the growing shortage of nurses and midwives across the country.
The online poll posed two questions:
- Should federal Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek, do more to fix the graduate nurse crisis?
- Should Prime Minister Julia Gillard waive HECS fees for nurse graduates who accept employment in areas of need?
More than 680 people across Australia responded, with the final results showing:
Question 1:
Yes – 97.4%
No – 1 %
Unsure – 1.6 %
Question 2:
Yes – 87%
No – 6.5%
Unsure – 6.5%
ANF federal secretary, Lee Thomas, said the results of the poll “sent a very loud message” that the federal government must play a role in working with state and territory governments in “fixing the country’s nursing crisis”.
“Our ANF members, along with concerned members of the public, have voted overwhelmingly for the federal government to step in and do more to solve Australia’s current shortage of nurses, especially the limited employment opportunities for our graduate nurses,” Ms Thomas said.
“They also believe that one remedy is for the Prime Minister to waive HECS fees for nurse graduates who accept work in areas of need across the country,” she added.
According to Ms Thomas, poll results indicate the growing nursing crisis is set to become a real election issue for the federal government next year.
“It’s an issue the government must address and solve, otherwise safe patient care will be compromised and unfortunately, it will be the sick and the vulnerable who will suffer.”
The campaign has resulted in more than 2,650 signed emails to politicians, including 800 to federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek and almost 10,000 community members signing up to show their support.
