- Nurse and midwife to patient ratios to begin at the North Metropolitan Health Service
- Staged implementation starting with general medical and general surgical wards
- Follows successful rollout at Perth Children's Hospital emergency department
- Part of the Cook Government's commitment to improving hospital workloads
The North Metropolitan Health Service (NMHS) will begin implementing nurse and midwife to patient ratios across its general medical and general surgical wards, as part of the Cook Government's commitment to supporting our nursing and midwifery workforce.
Following the successful rollout at Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) emergency department, staged implementation of ratios will begin at the NMHS, including Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Osborne Park Hospital, in October.
The Cook Government is committed to introducing nurse and midwife to patient ratios at all WA Health hospitals and has formed the Ratios Taskforce, which includes representatives from the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF), to oversee the rollout.
Last year PCH emergency department became the first ward in the State to pilot replacing the Nursing House Per Patient Per Day model of nursing levels with ratios, as part of a planned, progressive rollout of the new workforce model.
The successful roll out of ratios at PCH ED highlighted the benefit of a focused, phased approach to implementation.
By starting at NMHS with general medical and surgical wards, WA Health will be able to continue the successful rollout across the system, supporting our nursing workforce and ensuring patient safety.
NMHS will see ratios of ratios of one nurse to every four patients during the day and one nurse to every seven patients at night, starting with general medical and general surgical wards.
The Cook Labor Government had grown Western Australia's healthcare workforce by 30 per cent since 2017 - adding 4,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) nurses and 1,800 FTE doctors.
Comments attributed to Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:
"Nurse and midwife to patient ratios have been on the ANF's log of claims for more than 20 years, and we're proud to be the Government getting on with introducing this historic change.
"Ratios were introduced at Perth Children's Hospital emergency department last year and saw rostered staffing levels lift to one nurse for every three patients.
"The North Metropolitan Health Service, which includes some of our busiest hospitals, will be next to start implementing ratios, beginning with general medical and general surgical wards."
