Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation's Cath Hatcher says nursing enrolments at CDU will be reduced next year as graduations have been delayed due to a back-log of placements

Transcript

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation's Cath Hatcher says nursing enrolments at CDU will be reduced next year as graduations have been delayed due to a back-log of placements · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: But look, another issue that we've been speaking about quite
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: a bit is the national nursing shortage. We know that
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: it is taking its toll here in the Northern Territory
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: as well, and reportedly has taken its toll on Northern
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Territory students with some not graduating when they should have.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: And Charles Darwen University has told the ABC that it's
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: due to a backlog of clinical placements amid COVID restrictions.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: So joining me on the line to tell us a
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: little bit more about how things are going at the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: moment is the Branch Secretary of the Northern Territory Australian
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Nursing and Midwiffery Federation, Cath Hatchet.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Cath.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie and listeners.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Kath, great have you on the show.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Just firstly, how severe is the shortage of nurses in
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory at the moment.
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: If you look around the whole of the NT, you're
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: probably looking at around three hundred to three hundred full
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: time equivalents and that's not just the urban areas, that's
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: rule and remote as well.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Wow, So we're that level short between three hundred and
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: And that's just a guestimate because I haven't had the
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: estimates given to me for probably six or eight weeks. Now.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Goodness, Meg, that's a massive number.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Cat And is that quite the concern as we lead
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: into that Christmas period and quite often that's a time
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: where people do make decisions to move to other states.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: Yes, it's definitely a worry because from about September October
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: onwards you get a drop in numbers around the territory,
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: those going back to better weather in the Southern States,
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: and until about April May we seem to get it
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: picking up again. So yes, it is concerning when those
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: numbers are at that level and that we're going to
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: drop again or have been dropping already, and probably a
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: little bit more until Christmas.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: What impact is it then having on the staff that remained.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: They're already doing overtime and double ships, but they'll probably
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: pick up a little bit more. They will have to
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: furlough or give some some holidays around that time, but
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: that would be very limited, one would think, and they
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: would have some services decrease over that time. So even
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: though we know elective surgery has already been very limited,
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: it probably over the Christmas January break, it might be
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: down to zero elective surgery.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Wow, so we may find that we've got no elective
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: surgery happening over that Christmas break.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: I would say, so, yes, that's what usually happens.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: What kind of impact does that have then as we
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: come back next year and trying to get through all
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: those different patients that hadn't been.
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: Seen, Well, yes, that is a really a poor outcome
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: for those that have been on waiting lists for many
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: months and even years, that they're going to be held
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: up even more and as they have been over the
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: last couple of years with COVID and CAS.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: We know that, you know that it's tough.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: I guess when you talk about the recruitment of nurses,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: how are things going on that front as we do
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: sort of prepare to get ready?
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: I guess for twenty twenty three.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: The continuously Department of Health are continuously recruiting to all areas,
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: but also doing lots of orientation for new staff as
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: well as new graduates that have come out of the
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: universities and have now registered as an enrolled nurse or
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: registered nurse or registered midwife. They are doing those orientations
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: regularly and they're trying to build up not just the
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: ward areas where it's easier to put the new graduates,
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: but they're trying to do some programs, to do some
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: courses and some education of putting them into the emergency departments,
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: theater renal services where they're low in their numbers, and
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: the meeting more staff than they have before.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, And was there a backlog or from your perspectives,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: has there been a backlog when it comes to those
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: UNI students not sort of being able to graduate on
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: time because they weren't able to do their clinical placements.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: Well, we only had one issue probably about twelve to
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: eighteen months ago where we stopped students doing their placements
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: and that was only about three to five days in
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: the Department of Health. Whereas those UNI students that have
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: been enrolled from other states into Charles Dalwen Universities, they're
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: the ones that about to forty percent of those students
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: have been affected and haven't completed their placements. And because
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: they do live in the state and they've been affected
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: by the COVID on a bigger scale compared to the
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: Northern territory that's affected the enrollments that's going to take
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: place for next year, so thirty to forty students that
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: haven't completed yet their placements for this year. The Australian
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: Nursing and Midwi Free Accreditation Council or ann MAX, for sure,
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: they are a guidance for the universities and how many
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: numbers they should for the next year. So it's reduced
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: their numbers for the Bachelor of Nursing quite significantly from
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: about four hundred ish down to one hundred for next year.
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: And I have heard by the Chief Nurse a MIGWRA
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: Free office that those one hundred that have been employed
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: into the modules for Bachelor of Nursing for next year
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: all living within the Northern Territory or have come from
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: overseas but are living in the Northern Territory that are
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: enrolled in the program for next year.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: So do you reckon that's going to see a bit
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: of a boost for us CAT.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: I don't know one hundred that's going to be a
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: boost In three years time when they finish their Bachelor
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: of Nursing, I think the numbers need to be back
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: up to about four hundred intake, perhaps not around the territory,
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: but at least a couple one hundred around the territory, Kath.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: What impact then is the current wage freeze having when
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: you talk about our nurses.
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: The current wage trees, well, as we know, it's off
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: the table now for about almost two months. And she's
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: she being the Tasha Folds of government has given us
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: two percent compounding wage increase over the enterprise agreement. And
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: that's not just affecting ours, it's affecting ten public sector
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: agreements and that is going to affect if the Files
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: government stick to the two percent, They're highly likely the
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: public sector workers are not perhaps going to stay where
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: they might for a couple of years and then go
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: into state the The two percent is going to affect
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: the nurses greatly. We're going to we always have, sorry,
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: We've always tried to in the territory for the last
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: twenty plus years, our union has tried to keep the
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: nurses and midwives in the top two particularly and hopefully
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: in the top three. But now with Queensland having a
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: four percent four percent, the three percent South Australia going
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: for something similar, Queensland is going for six percent at
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: this stage. If they all get up and we stay
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: at the two percent, we are going to drop back
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: to perhaps fourth within the Australia, and then the allowances
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: on top of that as are going to still stay
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: at two percent, and it is going to have an
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: effect on some people not coming to the territory and
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: some nurses not not staying and going into state where
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: they know that they can get bonuses and they know
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: that they can get a better pay.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: KAS What do you make then, I mean, obviously they've
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: come to the table for teachers there, you know, they
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: announced late last week that there's going to be that
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: pay increase or they put a new offer on the
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: table for teachers. It adds up to nine percent nine
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: percent pay rise by October twenty twenty three. In those
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: three percent increments backdated, I mean, de nurses want to
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: see something like that.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: We we're asking for six percent. Some of our members
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: are wanting more like ten percent, but majority of our
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: members are wanting a six percent overall. Yeah, I think
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: if they can get up better than two percent and
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: get somewhere near the six percent and it goes to vote,
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: I would say that, Well, I can't speak on behalf
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: of the member, but I think it's probably got a
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: a better chance of getting a yes vote if they
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: offer us and continue to offer the two percent. I
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: can tell you now, no vote is going to be
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: one hundred percent.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah right, suh.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: Well, it sounds as are there's some work that needs
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: to happen there kas, any idea you know when a
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: new offer is going to be put on the table
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: for nurses.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: While we're still doing our bargaining currently, Katie, and we
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: probably won't get a vote or another or go to
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: vote from another offer at the table and probably until
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: the end of February, which is very disheartening and very
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: long time away. But with closure of Christmas and people
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: going on holidays and the fact that we're still going
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: through our log of claims and the Department of Health
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: slogger claims, we may not get to the end of
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: it until February. End of February.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: Wow.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: Well, kat please keep us up to date, keep in
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: contact with us, and let us know how things progress.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate your time this morning. We've appreciated
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: it all the time you've given us throughout the year.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having a chat with us
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: this morning.
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: No, you're very welcome, Katie, And if I don't speak
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: to you, to have a Merry
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Christmas you too, Thank you so much, Katy,