Media Release: Recruitment and Retention Parliamentary Petition

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian Branch (ANMF) has today launched a Parliamentary Petition, sponsored by the Tasmanian Greens, to call for immediate action on recruitment and retention of nurses and midwives in state’s healthcare system.

With Tasmanian nurses and midwives some of the worst paid in the country, the ANMF has called for increased base salaries in the state’s public sector in order to retain existing staff, keep graduate nurses here and also ensure that Tasmania’s health system can recruit from the mainland.

The ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary, Emily Shepherd, said today “it is incredibly concerning that despite an enormous strain on the health system here and the demand for nurses and midwives growing across the country that the Tasmanian Government has not moved swiftly to make a job as a nurse or midwife as attractive from a renumeration perspective so that we can keep our Tasmanian grown nurses and midwives and recruit from the mainland”.

“The ANMF highlighted this concern during EA negotiations in 2018 and since then there has been a steady loss of graduate nurses, existing nurses and midwives and difficulty in recruiting to positions.

“In addition, the skill mix in clinical areas is now so depleted with many senior staff having left or retired, that more support is required to ensure safe working environment for new graduate nurse and early career nurses,” Ms Shepherd said.

The ANMF has also called for additional resources to support new graduates and early career nurses in an environment which has less and less senior staff available to offer preceptorship. The ANMF has therefore called for more dedicated clinical nurse educators and clinical coaches to provide increased clinical support and reduce the risk of burn out.

“We hear time and time again from our members that they are fatigued and do not feel valued by the Tasmanian Government despite relying on them during the COVID-19 pandemic and no doubt will again when COVID-19 re-enters Tasmania when borders open on 15 December 2021,” Ms Shepherd said.

The ANMF hears from the community about the incredible dedication of the nurses and midwives who have cared for them when accessing services, so the ANMF is now calling on these same community members to show their support for nurses and midwives in Tasmania by completing the petition which can be accessed on-line via the Parliament of Tasmania House of Assembly Current e-petition site by clicking here.

Nurses and midwives are in high demand across the country and the world. It is essential the Tasmanian Government ensures that we can retain existing nurses and midwives and recruit to the state’s health system.

“The ANMF is grateful for the Tasmanian Greens supporting the ANMF petition and hopes that the Tasmanian community, its members and their families do too,” Ms Shepherd said.

Media contact:
Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary
Mobile: 0400 884 021
Email: Emily.shepherd@anmftas.org.au