3 June 2022
The ANMF (SA Branch) says the State Government’s plan to introduce more than 500 extra beds to the health system will only be successful if it is accompanied by a costed vision for an expanded workforce.
This week’s State Budget featured a range of health commitments including 326 hospital and mental health beds, with the majority to be spread across Adelaide’s major hospitals.
A further 228 beds will be available when the upgrade and expansion of the Flinders Medical Centre and construction of the new Mount Barker Hospital are complete.
ANMF (SA Branch) CEO/Secretary Adj Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars AM said the challenge now was finding the nurses, midwives and other health professionals needed to support the increase in bed numbers.
“The extra beds is the equivalent of a Royal Adelaide Hospital or a Flinders Medical Centre and that requires up to four thousand nursing and midwifery staff to provide appropriate staffing and care,” she said.
“The reality is it will take 2-3 years before those beds come online but it will also require 2-3 years lead-in time for the appropriate training, support and supervision to ensure there is a workforce for the future.
“We already know there are enormous pressures on the system with nurses working double shifts and chronic understaffing.
"Following our public announcements, the Minister for Health Chris Picton acknowledged our concerns in a post-budget forum on Thursday and the Minister agreed to work with us on a workforce plan that will be needed to accompany the introduction of extra beds.
“We welcome this commitment to work with us on this and look forward to collaborating with the State Government to ensure we have the appropriate number of nurses and midwives available in the future,” Ms Dabars said.
Ms Dabars said she was pleased the government was “taking measures” to achieve many of its pre-election commitments and added we would continue to advocate solutions.
“We have also raised the need to put further investment into areas like primary health care and subacute beds to further alleviate the problems of ramping and hospital overcrowding. Again, the Minister has expressed an interest in working with us on these issues and we welcome the opportunity to do just that for the benefit of our members and the broader community.”
The Malinauskas Government says in its first budget an additional $2.4 billion has been invested in health.
For more articles on how the budget will impact our members, head to the News Hub section of the ANMF (SA Branch) website.