New graduate nurses and midwives join the ranks of Queensland Health
- More than 1,800 new graduate nurses and over 180 new midwifery graduates will begin their careers with Queensland Health as part of this year's first graduate intake.
- The intake follows the recruitment of more than 880 new junior doctors in January.
- More than 60 per cent of nurse and midwife graduates will be heading to rural, regional or remote areas.
More than 1,800 new graduate nurses and over 180 new midwifery graduates will join Queensland Health in a significant boost to the ranks of the State's healthcare frontline.
More than 60% of the recruits will be moving to rural, regional and remote areas, while 630 junior nurses and more than 50 graduate midwives will bolster the Metro North Health and Metro South Health, the State's two busiest hospital and health services.
The recruits will receive clinical experience in areas including paediatric units to palliative care units, aged care, mental health and rehabilitation environments, intensive care and emergency departments.
The new nurses and midwives will start their careers between January and March, and follows the intake of more than 880 new junior doctors joining Queensland Health this year.
Attracting and retaining healthcare workers, while providing them with the support and resources they need is a priority for the Crisafulli Government as it works to treat, diagnose and cure Labor's Health Crisis.
The intakes will support the Crisafulli Government's Easier Access to Health Services plan to grow and develop Queensland Health's frontline workforce.
Yesterday the Crisafulli Government launched real-time health data, providing transparency for the first time to Queenslanders in need of medical care. Access to the Open Hospitals website can be found here: https://openhospitals.health.qld.gov.au/
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Tim Nicholls said the new intakes were part of the Queensland Government's push to invest in more frontline health services and staff.
"From working within our busiest metropolitan hospitals or rural, regional and remote communities, our nurse and midwives are critical to ensuring Queenslanders can receive the care they need, when they need it," Minister Nicholls said.
"Our newest nurses and midwives will receive vital on-the-job training and instruction to ensure Queenslanders continue to receive an excellent level of care.
"This is the first intake of nursing and midwifery graduates for the year, with hundreds more graduates set to join Queensland's hospital ranks later in the year.
"It means more than 600 new graduate nurses and more than 60 new graduate midwives will be working between central and far northern areas of Queensland in a major win for these communities.
"These intakes will support a key plank of our $590 million Easier Access to Health Services Plan to hire more frontline staff and improve access to regional health services to address growing demands on the health system.
"There is no single or quick fix, so our comprehensive plan is covering breadth of the health system, including introducing real-time data, improving emergency department performance and access to health services, and delivering more hospital beds."
Queensland Health's Acting Chief Nursing Officer Nathan Dart said graduate nurses were provided with a range of formal and informal learning opportunities throughout their graduate year to gain the skills and confidence they need to care for Queenslanders at any stage of life.
"This is such an exciting time for our graduate nurses because it is the beginning of lifelong opportunities to work in the clinical specialities and hospitals that interest them," Mr Dart said.
"It is undoubtedly an exciting time as they embark on building meaningful careers caring for Queenslanders."
Queensland Health's Chief Midwife Officer Liz Wilkes said she was excited to see the new graduate midwives commencing their positions.
"Our newest midwives will be putting learnings into action in birth suites, wards and community settings across Queensland," Ms Wilkes said.
"As midwives, they will be providing care to families across the state, from the first days of pregnancy until six weeks post birth."
