Hospitals in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven will soon benefit from an additional 70 FTE nurses, with recruitment to begin in coming weeks.
The Minns Labor Government will begin to implement Safe Staffing Levels across general wards in the region through the recruitment of:
- 45 FTE additional nurses for Wollongong Hospital
- 11 FTE additional nurses for Shoalhaven Hospital
- 10 FTE additional nurses for Shellharbour Hospital
- 2 FTE additional nurses for Milton Ulladulla Hospital
This comes as the Minns Labor Government expands its historic Safe Staffing Levels reform to more than 360 general and specialty wards across the state.
This rollout is in addition to the more than 6,700 nurses and midwives recruited over the last three years to rebuild our health system after a decade of neglect under the Liberals.
The expansion means more nurses on hospital wards, better support for the existing workforce and safer, higher-quality care for patients.
A minimum of one nurse to four patients will apply during morning and afternoon shifts across the participating wards.
This is the next major stage of one of the most significant hospital staffing reforms in generations.
Safe Staffing Levels are already being rolled out at 81 emergency departments across NSW, with 990 nurses already recruited.
Emergency Department Safe Staffing Levels have already been implemented across the District, with 30 FTE additional nurses recruited for Wollongong Hospital, 28 FTE additional nurses recruited for Shoalhaven Hospital, and 15 FTE additional nurses recruited for Shellharbour Hospital.
Planning is also underway on the rollout of Safe Staffing Levels at seven dedicated postnatal wards across NSW, which is aimed at benefiting women and families by providing further improvements to public maternity care.
