Babies will be considered as patients under new ratio rules. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Canberra’s maternity wards have adopted new nurse/midwife to patient ratios, with newborns now considered patients.
The change makes it just the second jurisdiction in Australia to consider babies as patients when determining staffing levels.
The changes took effect this month as the city aims to create safer staffing levels in the territory by 2026.
The new staffing standards require every shift to have an additional team leader, a balanced mix of staff, and a minimum nurse/midwife to patient ratio. The exact ratio is determined based on the business and the complexity of each unit.
Several services around the city will be impacted by this latest mandate.
At Canberra Hospital, perioperative and maternity services, the neonatal intensive care unit, and special care nursery will adopt the new ratios; so too will North Canberra Hospital’s perioperative and endoscopy services, which marks the completion of ratio implementation for its inpatient areas.
Making the announcement, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said this marked a milestone in the government’s long-term plan.
“This is about delivering safer workloads and better care. Nurses and midwives have told us what they need to provide the best care possible, and we’ve listened. With our commitment to phase two, we’re expanding ratios to more areas and continuing to build a health system that values and supports its workforce,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
The rollout of the new standards has been conducted in two phases, with the second starting last year and due to be completed by 2026.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has worked with the government in establishing the new ratios.
ACT Branch Secretary Carlyn Fidow said the rollout had been a steep learning curve.
“While we’re pleased to see the continued rollout of ratios into phase two areas, we know that getting implementation right is essential. The goal must be to ensure that every area covered by ratios is meeting 100 per cent compliance 100 per cent of the time and the onus is on Canberra Health Services to ensure it is putting structures in place for ratios areas to succeed.”
Compliance has been an issue as ratio mandates have rolled out. Last year the Canberra health service came under scrutiny after not meeting mandated ratios for a quarter of shifts.
Ms Stephen-Smith said compliance had grown.
“Over the past year, we’ve seen strong compliance with the new ratios and positive feedback from staff. This next step will help more teams deliver even higher quality care,” she said.
Numbers have improved recently, with Canberra Hospital achieving 83 per cent compliance and North Canberra Hospital achieving 95 per cent.
Nursing and midwife ratios have been a long-running issue in Canberra. Nurses began lobbying the government for patient ratios in the lead up to the 2016 ACT election.
To achieve its goals the government has committed $86 million over four years to recruit 137 full-time nurses and midwives to support its plan to improve ratios.
The expansion of nurse and midwife numbers is part of a wider project to expand the health service by around 800 personnel to better address the needs of an expanding city.
