Key Points
A Rebecca White Labor Government will support our health workers by offering free university degrees, job security and better conditions.
Labor’s Plan will:
- Offer 500 health workers permanent jobs.
- Pay the uni fees of 320 new health workers.
- Introduce safe staffing models over the term of government.
- Add extended hours childcare centres to each of the master plans of the RHH, LGH and NWRH.
Every week, a plane load of young people leaves our state. We must offer better incentives for them to stay and work in Tasmania.
The details
A Labor Government will offer:
1. Permanent Jobs for Health Workers
A Labor government will provide job security to the key workers who are the backbone of our health service.
We will offer 500 fixed-term and casual health workers permanent jobs.
Currently, up to 25% of health workers are fixed term or casual. Often on rolling short term contracts. This includes doctors, specialists, paramedic, allied health staff, nurses and midwives.
We will put a stop to the casualisation of the health workforce, which has forced hundreds of talented health workers out of our state. If you want a good, secure job in Tassie you will be given one by a Labor government.
2. Free Degrees for Health Workers
We will pay the uni fees of up to 320 new health workers including:
- 200 nurses and midwives
- 50 allied health professionals
- 40 paramedics
- 30 nurse practitioners
If this initiative is proven to support recruitment, the program will be extended each year over the term to recruit up to 1200 new health workers.
This will cover the course costs for students to attend university or pay the uni debt of graduates who agree to work for in the Tasmanian health or education systems for 3 years.
With current and predicted shortages in nursing, midwifery, social work, speech pathology, occupational therapy, physio and paramedicine it is essential that we have enough quality workers to fill these roles.
We can’t lose any more talent to the mainland, we must remain competitive and offer good jobs and incentives to stay in Tassie.
“We will offer incentives to keep our talented health workers in our state.“
This 320 extra free degrees is in addition to the 150 free degrees announced in the Regional Health Plan.
3. Clinical Placements & Jobs
A Labor Government will pay for clinical placements for of up to 3 weeks for 200 nurses or midwife students.
We will also offer 30 packages to nurses taking up nurse practitioner study, by offering up to $30,000 to cover course fees and clinical practice. And create 30 new Nurse Practitioner positions within the Health system in addition to the 90 already announced as a part of our Regional Health Plan.
Nurse Practitioners want to work in Tasmania but do not have many opportunities with only 40 roles in the whole state. These are critical positions to expand as a part of a multidisciplinary team to ensure we are offering the best health services to patients.
4. Safe Staffing Models
Our nurses and midwives are regularly asked to fill double and triple overtime shifts and there is a heavy reliance on agency staff.
We need to do better.
A Labor government will work with nurses and midwives to introduce models with safe staffing through the term of government.
It will be better for workers and for patient care.
5. Extended Hours Childcare
Working parents want easy access to local and affordable childcare so they can go to work and pay the bills.
Health workers at our major hospitals find it even more difficult to access childcare given shift times.
A Labor government will introduce 3 childcare centres in to the plans of the 3 major hospital redevelopments at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Launceston General Hospital and North West Regional Hospital.
6. Workforce Summit
Within the first year, a Rebecca White Labor Government will convene a Workforce Summit.
We will invite workers, unions, the university, business, the community sector and community leaders to speak to the challenges in service delivery and the workforce shortages across the State Services.
This summit will inform the development of our strategic workforce planning, and build strategies to address the needs of Tasmanians in the short and long-term.
What people say about our plan
“Right now we have a recruitment and retention crisis across the health service and also across the public sector. Labor’s strategy has workers at its heart. It has listened to workers and it has put forward a strategy that ensures we have the workers we need.
It is smart, it acknowledges that when you don’t have a secure job you are looking for work elsewhere and you are leaving. We must build the workforce, train them and retain them and that is what this strategy does. “
- Thirza White, Secretary, Community & Public Sector Union
“As Chair of the Tasmanian Australian College of Nurse Practitioners, I value the leadership Rebecca’s Labor Party is showing in the Tasmanian NP workforce plan.
The Labor party’s support for the NP role with key educational support and workplace incentives will result in vast improvement of access to timely health care for vulnerable Tasmanians currently facing a number of barriers.
Nurses are more likely to stay in their communities and work there, with $30K budgeted for to upskill experienced nurses where they are currently working, profound results will be evident in 1-2 years.
The NP role in Tasmania has lagged behind growth in other states due to a lack of commitment and leadership - it is an exciting development to have a commitment that NP’s will be invited to participate in the work force summit and have a clear voice on issues such as context of practice, attraction and retention and workforce planning.”
- Hazel Bucher, Chair, Australian College of Nurse Practitioners (Tas)
“We welcome this fantastic initiative from the Labor Party today, that will make a difference. At the moment we lose so many staff through our health system through mismanagement of practices costing the taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars. The reality is staff turnover is a huge burden on the system.
Why would we ever have a nurse, paramedic or health worker on a fixed term contract? We know there are always vacancies in health and people who have permanent work stay longer. We have been calling on the Government to do this for 5 years. We have lost good allied health staff, nurses and doctors because they can’t get permanent work. I’m glad the Labor Party is finally offering it.
Incentives for allied health and paramedics by paying their HECS debt is a smart strategy. We see this as a really important first step. “
- Robbie Moore, Secretary, Health & Community Sector Union
The total costing of the workforce incentives and positions is $23.2m.