Staff shortages amongst doctors, nurses, and specialists on the north coast has seen the Northern NSW Local Health District spend $148 million in the 2022-2023 financial year on agency staff.
When NSW Health staff were told they must get a Covid vaccination otherwise they would lose their job, just like many teachers, police officers, and other workers, many who refused to get vaccinated quit or were sacked.
Media reports in June 2022 stated more than 1000 NSW Health staff either resigned or were sacked due to their position in relation to the Covid vaccine.
In July 2023, The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that NSW Health was spending about $1 billion annually on temporary health workers, with $148 million spent on locum doctors who are paid up to $4000 a day, while working in under resourced regional hospitals.
Northern NSW Local Health District NNSWLHD Chief Executive, Tracey Maisey said the past few years have been challenging, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, floods and bushfire emergencies.
“Despite these challenges our staff have succeeded in delivering high quality and positive outcomes of care,” she said.
“When vacancies exist, NNSWLHD engages agency medical and nursing staff to supplement the permanent workforce across the District.
“The 2022 floods had a significant impact on local communities and our local workforce, and agency staff played an important role in supporting our services throughout this period.
“In the 2022-23 financial year, the costs associated with our agency workforce totalled $148 million.”
The $148 million spent in the 2022-23 financial year on locum staff equates to about 13 per-cent of the Northern NSW Local Health District NNSWLHD annual budget, with more than $68 million paid in wages and $16 million spent on accommodation for these staff.
Ms Maisey said a new district-wide program, ‘Creating a Sustainable Future Together’, will see NNSWLHD partner with our staff, community, unions and stakeholders to support the NSW Health Future Plan 2022-32.
“The focus of our three-year program will be to find efficiencies and innovations, which will allow us to continue to deliver safe, high-quality patient-centred healthcare for our local communities, within our budget,” she said.
Recruitment of staff is ongoing.
“An overseas nursing recruitment program conducted earlier in 2023 is bolstering local nurse numbers, with the first of 60 new nurses already settling into their roles at hospitals across the District,” Ms Maisey said.
“In partnership with our staff and expert external support we have developed a comprehensive recruitment campaign, and there are recruitment and retention incentives for critical roles.
“We are supporting the retention of existing staff by assisting eligible staff on temporary contracts to transition to permanent employment and are working with our facilities to support them to improve internal recruitment processes and timeframes.
“We have also increased our new graduate nursing numbers, as well as offering permanent positions rather than traditional fixed term contracts.”