They are burnt out, exhausted and severly underpaid. And they also happen to be one of the country’s most critical segments of the workforce, that effectively underpins everything else.
So why wouldn’t we want to do everything possible to retain nurses? We did it through JobKeeper, so the idea of a specific ‘NurseKeeper’ initiative shouldn’t sound so far-fetched. One off payments won’t alone solve the systemic issues plaguing this sector, but they can provide an immediate start to hopefully buy some more time on long-term solutions.
The NurseKeeper plan has emerged this week from the leader of The Greens, Adam Bandt. He wants every nurse and paramedic in the country to be given a $10,000 bonus as an immediate means to highlight their value.
There are 320,000 such nurses and paramedics in the country, with Bandt’s plan under the ‘NurseKeeper’ scheme to offer $5000 now, followed by another $5000 in 12 months, at a cost of $3 billion. He says the initiative could be paid for if the government abandons the planned stage-three tax cuts.
Almost 80 per cent of nurses have declared they feel burnt out, according to the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, while three quarters have reported intentions to leave the sector over the next two to five years.
“We need to stop nurses leaving the profession and be clear-eyed about the burden nurses are bearing,” Bandt said during his speech at the National Nursing Forum on Thursday.
“Society now needs to do more than just thank nurses, we need to ensure the job is sustainable.”
He wants the Nursekeeper idea to be designed in consultation with unions and professional bodies, and ensure bonuses are applied to hospital workers no matter what state they work in.
“Instead of spending $244 billion on tax cuts for billionaires and the wealthy, the government should give $3 billion to nurses to reward them and stop them leaving the profession,” he says. “The government should be supporting nurses, not billionaires.”
Bandt has described the move as taking “care of the people who take care of us” and said he will be pushing the idea at the jobs and skills summit, due to take place next month.
A one-off $10,000 bonus won’t change everything, and it’s clear it needs to be matched by long-term initiatives that aim to address fairer pay and recognition for what nurses do. But it would be a fast and immediate opportunity to address at least part of the issue, right now. A national approach will also help avoid some nurses being forgotten in the payment scheme.
Recently, in response to a NSW announcement of a $3000 “appreciation” bonus to nurses, the Australian College of Nursing welcomed the response but urged it to be made tax-free and delivered across all jurisdictions in the country.