23 June 2002
Nurses: Worth Looking After - campaign up-date
Qld public hospital bed closures have started
Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) members at Queensland public hospitals have started closing beds as part of their campaign to overcome the State’s nurse shortage and rebuild nursing as an attractive career option.
At mass meetings during Thursday’s strike, Queensland public sector nurses voted to introduce more manageable work loads by closing up to one in four hospital beds.
Bed closures have already started at some facilities and the majority of closures are scheduled to start from Wednesday 26 June. The list of closures as at 23 June is attached.
As well as bed closures, other work bans are also continuing at more than 80 hospitals and health care facilities around the State.
The QNU launched its Nurses: Worth Looking After campaign in March this year, with the objective of rebuilding Queensland’s nursing workforce through:
- improving nurse wages;
- ensuring workloads are safe for both patients and staff;
- ensuring nurse education programs are appropriate and affordable;
- an improved and safer workplace environment; and
- the implementation of workforce planning strategies that address the needs of a predominately female and shift-working workforce.
The current enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) negotiations between the QNU and the State Government are a central feature of the campaign.
Beaudesert Hospital
Closure of all hospital beds reasonably identified as presenting a ‘risk’ to a patient or staff (eg. broken, inoperable bed rails or brakes, broken/unstable wheels etc). Members have tightened the criteria on removing beds from areas in such situations but want it as protected action anyway.
Closure of appropriate numbers of hospital beds on any shift where the current nurse staffing ratio/skill mix on any shift is below that discernable from the application of the business planning framework – Nursing and/or identifiable as professionally responsible within the QNC decision making framework for Registered Nurses, or is reasonably believed compromises the safe practice of nurses within the QNC Scope of Nursing Practice of Registered and Enrolled Nurses .
Scheduled starting date - 15 June 2002
Bundaberg Hospital
Closure of beds to funded levels (whole of hospital)
Scheduled starting date - 8 June 2002
Cairns Base Hospital
Closing one bed - 11 July 2002
Closing second bed - 25 July 2002
Emerald Hospital
14/15 – two beds to be closed - 20 June 2002
16/13 – two beds to be closed - 27 June 2002
17/12 – two beds to be closed - 4 July 2002
Shared rooms – two beds to be closed - 11 July 2002
* if designated beds are occupied at planned closure another bed will be selected
Gladstone Hospital
Closure of four beds (2 MH rooming in beds and 2 beds in ward 2A) - 20 June 2002
Further 2 beds each week - 27 June 2002
Ipswich Hospital
Bed closures on wards 7A 7B 7C 7D when staffing levels are unsafe - 14 June 2002
Logan Hospital
Endorse and support for closure of 3 unfunded beds in Ward 2H in an overworked and understaffed environment and the encouragement for all other clinical areas to assess, consider and potentially implement similar closures on professional grounds - 7 June 2002.
Ban on bed closures in ward 2H is lifted
Bans imposed commence closing beds in Logan Hospital from 20 June, on criteria determined according to the business planning framework - 25 June 2002
Nambour Hospital
Cancel/close one bed in every six throughout Nambour General Hospital - 21 June 2002
Close or cancel one bed per ward per week (instead of previous notification) - 25 June 2002
Princess Alexandra Hospital
Bed closures - 1 June 2002
QEII Hospital
Bed closures will begin week 2 some time – estimate 25% understaffed on throughput, acuity and OBD’s. Therefore closure will begin at 1 bed per four or six per unit = +/- 20% of hospital beds approx. Management is not adjusting any ‘elective surgery’ at this time and winter ills are beginning to show up already - 1 June 2002
Redland Hospital & Campus including Mental Health Services
McClay Unit closure of four beds consequential to workloads and professional care considerations - 11 June 2002
10% bed closures throughout hospital with no reduction in staffing number to ensure safe workloads - 7 June 2002
Full consultation is to be given for closure of 10% of hospital beds per week until QH settles the QNU claim to the satisfaction of QNU members.
10% bed closures throughout hospital with no reduction in staffing numbers.
Further escalation of the previously notified bed closures of 10% of beds each week such that:
- Macklay Unit shall have 8 beds closed
- Yugiapa Mental Health 5 beds closed
- Women & Birthing Services 5 beds closed
- Stradbroke Unit 4 beds closed
- Lamb Ward 4 beds closed
- Variation to bans previously notified
- Stradbroke Ward – bed closure reduced to four beds closed, 15 open Monday to Friday and 10 open Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays
- Paediatric Unit – Lamb Ward – bed closure reduced to 3 beds closed and 3 beds open all days
- Women & Birthing will continue to acknowledge and accept admission to W&B beds above the closed number, on genuine professional grounds for women in delivery
Royal Brisbane Hospital
Members to close beds on medical surgical wards where bed numbers do not comply with staff ratio of
- 1 nurse - 4 patients - am shift (plus team leader)
- 1 nurse - 4 patients - pm shift (plus team leader)
- 1 nurse - 8 patients - night shift
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23 June 2002
Nurses: Worth Looking After - campaign up-date
Nurses to stop work in Cairns today as Premier opens new hospital
Number of closed beds around the State starts to build
Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) members at Cairns Base Hospital will stop work at 11.00am today (Sunday 23 June) and rally at the main entrance of the hospital as the Premier, Peter Beattie, and Health Minister, Wendy Edmond, arrive to open the refurbished facility.
The official opening is scheduled for 11.30am.
QNU Far North Queensland organiser, Ross Tainton, and a delegation of QNU members are then scheduled to meet with Mr Beattie and the Industrial Relations Minister, Gordon Nuttall, at 2.30pm today at the Cairns High School to discuss the campaign by Queensland nurses to overcome the State’s nurse shortage and rebuild nursing as an attractive career option.
Today’s action in Cairns follows last Thursday’s Statewide nurses strike and comes as nurses start closing beds and bringing their workloads to manageable levels in Queensland public hospitals.
As well as bed closures, other work bans are also continuing at more than
80 hospitals and health care facilities around the State.
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18 June 2002
"Nurses: Worth Looking After" campaign up-dateDetails of Statewide nurses strike on
June 20 – many out for 24 hours
State budget offers no relief; more work bans implemented
Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) members at nearly 80 public hospitals and health care facilities throughout Queensland will strike for between one and 24 hours - depending on the facility - this Thursday (June 20) as part of their Nurses: Worth Looking After campaign, aimed at rebuilding nursing as an attractive career option. Site details, as at 18 June, are attached.
It what will be the most extensive nurses strike in Queensland history, nurses at some of the State’s biggest hospitals, including the Royal Brisbane, Princess Alexandra and Townsville, will strike for 24 hours.
Work bans are also continuing at hospitals and health care facilities around the State. So far nurses at the following 81 facilities have started work bans or will start them this week as part of the campaign.
Atherton Community Atherton Hospital Ayr Hospital Bamaga Bayside Community Health Bayside Women and Birthing Service Beaudesert Hospital Boonah Hospital Bundaberg Community Health Bundaberg Hospital Bundaberg Mental Health Cairns Base Hospital Cairns Community Health Centres Cape York health facilities Clermont Hospital Emerald Hospital Esk Hospital Everton Tide Charters Towers Gladstone Hospital Gold Coast Community Health Gold Coast Hospital Gordonvale Hospital Gympie Community Health Gympie Hospital Halwyn Centre Herberton Hospital Hervey Bay Community Health Hervey Bay Hospital Ingham Hospital Innisfail Hospital Innisfail Community Health Ipswich Hospital Keperra Hospital Kirwan Hospital Logan Hospital Logan Mental Health Logan Community Mental Health Mackay Community Health Mackay Hospital Mareeba Hospital Mareeba Community Health Maryborough Hospital Maryborough Community Mater Hospital Brisbane Miles Hospital Moranbah Community Moranbah Hospital Moranbah Mental Health Moreton Bay Nursing Care Unit Mount Isa Hospital Mount Lofty Toowoomba Nambour Hospital Nambour Mental Health Oakey Health Service Princess Alexandra Hospital Prince Charles Hospital QE II Community Health QE II Hospital Redcliffe-Caboolture District facilities Redland Hospital Redland Mental Health Rockhampton Hospital Rockhampton Mental Health Royal Brisbane Hospital Royal Children’s Hospital Royal Women’s Hospital Sarina Community Health Sarina Hospital Stanthorpe Hospital Sunshine Coast Community Health Toowoomba Base Hospital Toowoomba Community Health Toowoomba Mental Health Torres Strait and Northern Cape facilities Townsville Community Mental Health Townsville Hospital Warwick Hospital West Moreton Community Health Wolston Park Hospital Wynnum Hospital Yarrabah Hospital
The QNU launched its Nurses: Worth Looking After campaign in March this year, with the objective of rebuilding Queensland’s nursing workforce through:
- improving nurse wages;
- ensuring workloads are safe for both patients and staff;
- ensuring nurse education programs are appropriate and affordable;
- an improved and safer workplace environment; and
- the implementation of workforce planning strategies that address the needs of a predominately female and shift-working workforce.
The current enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) negotiations between the QNU and the State Government are a central feature of the campaign. The previous public hospitals EBA expired on 31 May 2002. As part of a new EBA the QNU is seeking a range of improvements to wages and working conditions including:
- a six per cent per year pay rise, with the first six per cent starting on 1 June 2002;
- a six per cent wage equity adjustment between 1 June 2002 and 1 June 2003, which brings nurse wages into line with other equivalent health professionals;
- special qualification allowances of between four per cent and 7.5 per cent, as an incentive for nurses to undertake specialised training and education;
- the better management of workloads;
- reasonable working hours and overtime restricted to a maximum of two hours per day;
- uninterrupted meal breaks of 30 minutes;
- free, safe car parking at all hospitals and health facilities;
- five days paid study, conference and seminar leave per year;
- night-shift workers to receive a 20 per cent allowance;
- fourteen weeks paid maternity leave;
- locality allowance on the same basis as the State public service;
- breaks of not less than 10 hours between shifts; and
- extension of Remote Area Nurses Incentive Package to enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing.
QNU secretary, Gay Hawksworth, said this claim is very focused on the important issues and represents a serious attack on the problems driving people away from nursing.
"Unfortunately, the Queensland Government’s response to-date has been hopelessly inadequate and will do little to rebuild nursing and overcome the nurse shortage. Its wage offer goes nowhere near bringing nurses wages into line with the increased complexity and intensity of nursing work. In fact, they have even had the temerity to try and take some existing entitlements off nurses.
"The nursing crisis has now reached a point in Queensland that services are being cut and, even in hospitals, registered nurses are being replaced by unlicensed staff. For example, in Queensland public hospitals official nurse vacancies blew out from 500 in 1999 to over 800 in November 2001," Ms Hawksworth said.
"Queensland Health took another snap shot of the situation earlier this year and over one week in February found that throughout the State around 2500 nursing shifts were not filled. Agency or casual nurses filled another 1200 shifts during that week.
"And these are Queensland Health’s own figures. QNU members tell us that the situation is actually much worse. For example, in November last year the official vacancy figure for Royal Brisbane Hospital was 15, but our members say it was actually more than 100. Staff shortages like this are regularly causing the cancellation of elective surgery and other services.
"In fact the depth and breadth of the nurse shortage is profound. Shortages in no other occupational group come close to rivalling it. It is time the State Government properly addressed the issues causing the crisis. It can’t hide behind the international nurse shortage; it has an obligation to act in its own jurisdiction.
"That means acting on comparatively poor pay and working conditions, excessive and unsafe workloads and an entrenched culture within the health sector that undervalues nurses and nursing work. The simple reality is that in the current EBA negotiations we must get substantial improvements in wages and working conditions if we are to rebuild nursing as an attractive career and keep the quantity and quality of Queensland’s health services up to legitimate community expectations.
"Today’s State budget contains nothing that indicates the State Government is prepared to offer nurses a better deal. Thursday's Statewide stoppage is a clear sign of the determination amongst Queensland nurses to get pay and conditions that will help rebuild the nursing workforce and, as a result, quality health services.
"Given the mood amongst nurses at the moment I fully expect them to vote at Thursday’s site meetings to escalate their industrial action. This will most likely take the form of more bed closures, to ensure nurses have manageable workloads," Ms Hawksworth said.
Site details of Queensland public sector nurses strike - Thursday, 20 June 2002
(one hour) time to be advised - Mt Lofty
1 to 24 hours - Gold Coast Campus
1.00 pm (Lunch time meeting) - Townsville Community
1.00 pm (20/6) to 8.00 am on 21/6 - emergency coverage only Gold Coast Theatres
24 hour rolling stoppage from 8.00 am - Caboolture Hospital
24 hour stop work - Logan Theatres
24 hours - Laidley Hospital
24 hours - Townsville Hospital
24 hours - Logan Hospital - Ward 2H
12 noon 2.00 pm - Bayside Community Nurses
8.00 am 10.00 am - Beaudesert Hospital
10.00 am 12 noon - Bundaberg Hospital, Mental Health, and Community
8.00 am 4.30 pm - Caboolture Theatres
9.00 am 12 noon - Cairns Base Hospital including Community Mental Health
9.00 am 12.00 noon - Cairns Community Nurses including Mental Health Nurses
2.00 pm 4.00 pm - Charters Towers Hospital
12 noon 4.00 pm - Emerald Hospital
2.00 pm 4.00 pm - Eventide, Charters Towers
12 noon 2.00 pm - Gladstone Hospital
10.00 am 12 noon - Gold Coast, Tower Block and A&E
4.00 pm 6.00 pm -Gold Coast, Tower Block and A&E
12 noon 1.00 pm - Gympie Community (including Mental Health)
12 noon 1.00 pm - Gympie Hospital
11.30 am 2.30 pm - Halwyn Centre
11.00 am 1.00 pm - Hervey Bay Hospital
12.30 pm 2.30 pm - Ingham Health Service
1.00 pm 2.00 pm - Innisfail Hospital
9.00 am 12 noon - Ipswich Hospital
11.00 am 12 noon - Jacana
12.30 pm 1.30 pm - Jacana
10.00 am 12 noon - Logan Beaudesert Community Mental Health
10.30 am 24 hours - Logan Hospital
10.00 am 2.00 pm - Mackay Base Hospital (day of action on 24 June, 2002)
10.00 am 10.15 am - Mackay Community Health
10.00 am 2.00 pm - Mackay Community Health (day of action on 24 June, 2002)
10.00 am 2.00 pm - Mackay Mental Health (day of action on 24 June, 2002)
12 noon 1.00 pm - Mareeba Hospital
9.30 am 11.30 am - Maryborough Hospital
12 noon 4.00 pm - Mater Public Hospitals
2.30 pm 3.30 pm - Moreton Bay Nursing Care Unit
8.00 am 8.00 pm - Mt Isa Hospital, Community Health and Community Mental Health
8.30 am 10.30 am - Nambour Hospital
8.30 am 10.30 am - Nambour Integrated Mental Health
10.00 am 12 noon - North Rockhampton Nursing Service
8.30 am 8.30 am on 21/6 - Princess Alexandra Hospital
8.00 am 6.00 pm - QEII Community
8.00 am 6.30 pm - QEII Hospital
8.00 am 4.30 pm - QEII Hospital CSSD
8.00 am 4.30 pm - QEII Operating Theatres
8.00 am 4.30 pm - Redcliffe Hospital
8.00 am 4.30 pm - Redcliffe Hospital
9.00 am 5.00 pm - Redland Hospital Campus (including Mental Health Services
12 noon 2.00 pm - Rockhampton Hospital
8.00 am 10.00 pm - Rockhampton Hospital Perioperative
Midnight 19/6/02 24 hours - Royal Brisbane Hospital
8.00 am 5.00 pm - Royal Brisbane Hospital - QRI
12 noon 4.00 pm - Royal Children's Hospital
6.30 am 24 hours - Royal Women's Hospital
12.45 pm 3.45 pm - Stanthorpe Health Service
8.30 am 10.30 am - Sunshine Coast Community
11.30 am 1.30 pm - The Prince Charles Hospital
7.00 am 3.30 pm - The Prince Charles Hospital
12 noon 1.00 pm - Thursday Island Hospital and Torres Outer Islands
12 noon 4.00 pm - Toowoomba Hospital
12 noon 4.00 pm - Toowoomba Mental Health
8.00 am 24 hours - Townsville Hospital
8.00 am 24 hours - Townsville Mental Health (including Acute Care Unit, Kirwan Rehab Unit, Cambridge Street Unit, Sussex Street Unit)
2.00 pm 4.30 pm - Townsville Nursing Home
7.00 am 3.00 pm - Warwick Health Service
12 noon 1.00 pm - Weipa Hospital and the Cape Communities
9.00 am 12 noon - West Moreton
2.00 pm 4.00 pm - Wolston Park
11.00 am 12 noon - Wynnum Hospital
4.00 pm 5.00 pm - Wynnum Hospital
12 noon 1.00 pm - Yarrabah Hospital
12 noon 2.00 pm - Yeppoon Hospital
12 noon 2.00 pm - Yeppoon Nursing Home
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3 June 2002
'Nurses. Worth Looking After.' Campaign up date
Public Hospital nurses start work bans; more stop work meetings tomorrow
Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) members working in public hospitals and health care facilities will start stop work meetings tomorrow (Monday 3 June) as part of their campaign to rebuild nursing as an attractive career option and overcome Queensland's serious nurse shortage.
Work bans started over the weekend (from June 1) in the following facilities:
Bamaga Bayside Women and Birthing Service Bundaberg Community Health Bundaberg Hospital Cairns Base Hospital Beaudesert Hospital Cairns Community Health Centres Gladstone Hospital Gold Coast Community Health Logan Hospital Logan Mental Health Logan Community Mental Health Mareeba Hospital Mareeba Community Health Maryborough Hospital Maryborough Community Mater Hospital Brisbane Nambour Hospital Princess Alexandra Hospital Prince Charles Hospital QEII Community Health QEII Hospital Redcliffe-Caboolture District facilities Redland Hospital Redland Mental Health Royal Children's Hospital Sunshine Coast Community Health Torres Strait and Northern Cape facilities Warwick Hospital
Other facilities will commence work bans this week. Stop work meetings also started today around the State and tomorrow meetings will be held at (outside facility);
QEII Hospital 8:00 am - 9:00 am
Princess Alexandra Hospital 8:30 am - 11:00 am
The QNU launched its Nurses. Worth Looking After. campaign in March this year, with the objective of rebuilding Queensland's nursing workforce through:
- improving nurse wages;
- ensuring nurse education programs are appropriate and affordable;
- ensuring workloads are safe for both patients and staff;
- an improved and safer workplace environment; and
- the implementation of workforce planning strategies that address the needs of a predominantly female and shift-working workforce.
The current enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) negotiations between the QNU and the State Government are a central feature of the campaign. The previous public hospitals EBA expired on Friday (31 May). As part of a new EBA the QNU is seeking a range of improvements to wages and working conditions including:
- a six per cent per year pay rise, with the first six per cent starting on 1 June 2002;
- a six per cent wage equity adjustment between 1 June 2002 and 1 June 2003, which brings nurse wages into line with other equivalent health professionals;
- special qualification allowances of between four per cent and 7.5 per cent, as an incentive for nurses to undertake specialised training and education;
- the better management of workloads;
- reasonable working hours and overtime restricted to a maximum of two hours per day;
- uninterrupted meal breaks of 30 minutes;
- free, safe car parking at all hospitals and health facilities;
- five days paid study, conference and seminar leave per year;
- night-shift workers to receive a 20 per cent allowance;
- fourteen weeks paid maternity leave;
- locality allowance on the same basis as the State public service;
- breaks of not less than 10 hours between shifts; and
- the extension of the Remote Area Nurses Incentive Package to enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing.
QNU Secretary, Gay Hawksworth, said this claim is very focused on the important issues and represents a serious attack on the problems driving people away from nursing.
"Unfortunately, the Queensland Government's response to date has been hopelessly inadequate and will do little to rebuild nursing and overcome the nurse shortage. Its wage offer goes nowhere near brining nurses' wages into line with the increased complexity and intensity of nursing work. In fact, they have even had the temerity to try and take some existing entitlements off nurses.
"The nursing crisis has now reached a point in Queensland that services are being cut and, even in hospitals, registered nurses are being replaced by unlicensed staff. For example, in Queensland public hospitals official nurse vacancies blew out from 500 in 1999 to over 800 in November 2001," Ms Hawksworth said.
"Queensland Health took another snap shot of the situation earlier this year and over one week in February found that throughout the State around 2500 nursing shifts were not filled. Agency or casual nurses filled another 1200 shifts during that week.
"And these Queensland Health's own figures. QNU members tell us that the situation is actually much worse. Fro example, in November last year the official vacancy figure for Royal Brisbane Hospital was 15, but our members say it was actually more than 100. Staff shortages like this are regularly causing the cancellation of elective surgery and other services.
"In fact the depth and breadth of the nurse shortage is profound. shortage sin no other occupational group come close to rivalling it. It is time for the State Government to properly address the issues causing the crisis. It can't hide behind claims of an international nurse shortage: it has an obligation to act in its own jurisdiction.
"That means acting on comparatively poor pay and working conditions, excessive and unsafe workloads and an entrenched culture within the health sector that undervalues nurses and nursing work. The simple reality is that in the current EBA negotiations we must get substantial improvements in wages and working conditions if we are to rebuild nursing as an attractive career and keep the quantity and quality of Queensland's health services up to legitimate community expectations," Ms Hawksworth said.
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2 June 2002
'Nurses. Worth Looking After.' Campaign up date
Public Hospital nurses start stop work meetings tomorrow
Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) members working in public hospitals and health care facilities will start stop work meetings tomorrow (Monday 3 June) as part of their campaign to rebuild nursing as an attractive career option and overcome Queensland's serious nurse shortage.
Tomorrow's (3 June) stop work meetings will be held at the following facilities:
- Logan Hospital - 8:30 am to 9:30 am
- Beaudesert Hospital - 8:30 am to 9:30 am
- Recliffe Hospital - 10:00 am to 12:00 noon
- Cairns Base Hospital - 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm
- Redland Hospital & Mental Health - 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm
The QNU launched its Nurses. Worth Looking After. campaign in March this year, with the objective of rebuilding Queensland's nursing workforce through:
- improving nurse wages;
- ensuring nurse education programs are appropriate and affordable;
- ensuring workloads are safe for both patients and staff;
- an improved and safer workplace environment; and
- the implementation of workforce planning strategies that address the needs of a predominantly female and shift-working workforce.
The current enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) negotiations between the QNU and the State Government are a central feature of the campaign. The previous public hospitals EBA expired on Friday (31 May). As part of a new EBA the QNU is seeking a range of improvements to wages and working conditions including:
- a six per cent per year pay rise, with the first six per cent starting on 1 June 2002;
- a six per cent wage equity adjustment between 1 June 2002 and 1 June 2003, which brings nurse wages into line with other equivalent health professionals;
- special qualification allowances of between four per cent and 7.5 per cent, as an incentive for nurses to undertake specialised training and education;
- the better management of workloads;
- reasonable working hours and overtime restricted to a maximum of two hours per day;
- uninterrupted meal breaks of 30 minutes;
- free, safe car parking at all hospitals and health facilities;
- five days paid study, conference and seminar leave per year;
- night-shift workers to receive a 20 per cent allowance;
- fourteen weeks paid maternity leave;
- locality allowance on the same basis as the State public service;
- breaks of not less than 10 hours between shifts; and
- the extension of the Remote Area Nurses Incentive Package to enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing.
QNU Secretary, Gay Hawksworth, said this claim is very focused on the important issues and represents a serious attack on the problems driving people away from nursing.
"Unfortunately, the Queensland Government's response to date has been hopelessly inadequate and will do little to rebuild nursing and overcome the nurse shortage. Its wage offer goes nowhere near brining nurses' wages into line with the increased complexity and intensity of nursing work. In fact, they have even had the temerity to try and take some existing entitlements off nurses.
"The nursing crisis has now reached a point in Queensland that services are being cut and, even in hospitals, registered nurses are being replaced by unlicensed staff. For example, in Queensland public hospitals official nurse vacancies blew out from 500 in 1999 to over 800 in November 2001," Ms Hawksworth said.
"Queensland Health took another snap shot of the situation earlier this year and over one week in February found that throughout the State around 2500 nursing shifts were not filled. Agency or casual nurses filled another 1200 shifts during that week.
"And these Queensland Health's own figures. QNU members tell us that the situation is actually much worse. Fro example, in November last year the official vacancy figure for Royal Brisbane Hospital was 15, but our members say it was actually more than 100. Staff shortages like this are regularly causing the cancellation of elective surgery and other services.
"In fact the depth and breadth of the nurse shortage is profound. shortage sin no other occupational group come close to rivalling it. It is time for the State Government to properly address the issues causing the crisis. It can't hide behind claims of an international nurse shortage: it has an obligation to act in its own jurisdiction.
"That means acting on comparatively poor pay and working conditions, excessive and unsafe workloads and an entrenched culture within the health sector that undervalues nurses and nursing work. The simple reality is that in the current EBA negotiations we must get substantial improvements in wages and working conditions if we are to rebuild nursing as an attractive career and keep the quantity and quality of Queensland's health services up to legitimate community expectations," Ms Hawksworth said.
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