The Palaszczuk Government will hire an extra 770 graduate nurses and midwives a year in a major boost for frontline health services.
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath said new recruiting push would increase Queensland Health’s total annual nurse and midwifery graduate intake to 2500.
“We’re bringing an extra 1,540 nurse and midwife graduates online in the next two years and this will make a massive difference in our busy public hospitals,” the Minister said.
“There will also be an additional 100 Clinical Facilitators and Nurse Educators to help guide the new nursing and midwife graduates.
“These highly trained professionals will play an important role educating, mentoring and guiding our newest nurses and midwives.
“This is about building and nurturing the next generation of our clinical workforce amid the unprecedented demand we’re seeing in our busy public hospitals.
“With a national and international shortage of clinical staff, including nurses and midwives, we’re going all out to secure Queensland’s future health workforce.
“Nurses and midwives account for around a third of our clinical workforce and I thank each and every one of them the exceptional care they provide.”
Minister D’Ath said the boost in graduates would strengthen the health system’s frontline.
“This investment will go a long way to addressing our health workforce challenges across the state by ensuring a pipeline of skilled nurses and midwives once their graduate placement is completed,” she said.
“Importantly, it will help ease emergency flow pressures and assist with our elective surgery program.”
To support nurse and midwifery graduates, most of Queensland’s Hospital and Health Services use a Clinical Facilitator model or a similar model.
This includes supervision by Clinical Facilitators, preceptorship, transition support through targeted education, and partnerships with Nurse Educators
The Palaszczuk Government has recruited more than 10,600 full-time equivalent additional nurses and midwives since 2015.
The LNP Newman government sacked 1,800 nurses when they were in office.
