Nurses – it’s not just about the pay
The Country Alliance party has called on the Baillieu government to make good on its election commitment to maintain world class patient ratios and improve on their working conditions.
Party spokesman, Andrew Jones, said the current debate goes well beyond the pay increase that the media has been focussing on.
“There are other issues that the government is not moving on that will compromise patient care and put nursing back at least 30 years”.
“The introduction of broken shifts puts the level of patient care in danger and the provision of nursing assistants will not replace the skills needed for quality nursing care. A key problem is that the government does not seem to be interested in maintaining world class patient ratios despite its election commitment to do that,” he said.
“The training for assistants is significantly less than for a registered nurse which requires at least a 3 year university degree. Many other nurses go onto further study including post graduate qualifications. Replacing nurses with assistants are is not a solution.”
Mr Jones said the proposed abolishment of the positions of Director of Nursing in hospitals is a further concern.
“The Directors of Nursing are responsible for the performance of the nurses within the hospital. They ensure policy and procedures are followed and are a “go-to” person if a nurse has issues that need resolution. We think there is a real need to retain these positions”
Contact: Andrew Jones 0427 557 093
Website: www.countryalliance.org
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