Bill Speech: Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2020

Ms SPENCE (Yuroke—Minister for Community Sport, Minister for Youth, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (16:50): It is a great pleasure to rise today to speak on the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2020. It is even more of a pleasure to do so this year, given that 2020 is the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, one of the founders of modern nursing.

The importance of this bill to the Andrews Labor government has been clear from the number of contributors and the depth of the contributions of the many who have contributed on this important bill. I have really enjoyed listening to those contributions over the course of the debate, and I have been really impressed with the many stories that have been shared about the experiences of workers in the healthcare sector and of course the personal experiences of contributors in the healthcare sector.

We have no doubt all had experiences as patients in health care or with family members in health care. The member for Sunbury was encouraging me to talk about the personal experiences that I have had, but we decided that with only a 10-minute contribution I probably should not start doing that, because I am someone who has been rather prone to injuries from a young age. The most recent one is only just healing from a few weeks ago. We probably should not start going through that list of hospital visits. In the overwhelming number of cases where I have had a hospital visit, for me it has always been a time of what is normal anxiety, just like anyone that goes for a hospital visit, but it is always made better through the wonderful care of nurses that are there, who always go above and beyond to make sure that as a patient I am put at ease, that I am made comfortable, that I feel safe and that I am getting the best care that I possibly can get and that they can give.

As most parents will know, when you attend hospital with your child you see this wonderful care kick up a level. That is so greatly appreciated, because as a parent when you take a child to hospital you feel a sense of helplessness that you cannot personally take away that sense of fear that you know your child feels in this strange world. But it is very reassuring to know that there are nurses there, and it truly demonstrates what wonderful people our nurses are that they have that ability to make scared, confused children feel at ease in what is that unfamiliar environment and to do so with such compassion whilst at the same time keeping that keen eye on so many vitally important health factors. It is a skill that should not be underestimated.

I was reflecting that there is yet another cohort of nurses that take it up to even another level. My goddaughter Mia was born three years ago at 29 weeks and spent seven weeks at Monash Children’s Hospital and Casey Hospital. She was a tiny little dot of a thing who could just sit in my hand. She spent 24 hours a day in the care of others. The nurses that look after those premature babies whose lives at any time are at such risk are absolute miracle workers, and we are in their debt. They are absolutely amazing people. Our nurses and our midwives are indeed very special people. Those who have gone through the most anxious time of childbirth will all say that midwives are people that will forever hold a very special place in your heart. It is something that you really want to erase from your memory as quickly as you can, but midwives certainly hold a very special place. Midwives and nurses are very special indeed and they are with us for some of the most difficult and special moments in our lives, and I, along with everyone in this place, thank them for that.

This government is committed to ensuring that Victorians have access to high-quality and safe health care, and there has never been a government in Victoria more committed to nurse- and midwife-to-patient ratios than the Andrews Labor government. Enshrining nurse- and midwife-to-patient staffing ratios into law in 2015 is a proud achievement of our government and one that we are deeply committed to. Evidence demonstrates that higher staffing numbers lead not only to a more engaged workforce but also better patient care and outcomes.

We took to the 2018 election further commitments to protect and strengthen ratios in two stages. The first phase of amendments to the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Act 2015 were passed by this Parliament in March 2019. These amendments represented the first time that nurse- and midwife-to-patient ratios had been meaningfully reviewed since their beginning in 2000. They removed the outdated rounding methodology on most shifts so that in most circumstances nurses and midwives were no longer required to carry a workload that at times could be 50 per cent greater than the ratios set out in the act. It also established new ratios in key clinical practice areas. It was backed up with the funding required to deliver 600 additional nurses and midwives employed in public hospitals across Victoria. The introduction of this bill today delivers on phase 2 of our election commitment and delivers further improvements to see a further 500 nurses and midwives employed in our public health system from our busiest metropolitan hospitals to our rural services, taking this to a total of 1100 extra nurses and midwives.

We have invested $50 million to create a Nursing and Midwifery Workforce Development Fund that is already attracting record numbers of applications across the state. This fund is creating training opportunities and has provided scholarships for nurses and midwives to further specialise so they can fill new positions that will be created. It is expanding the existing registered nurse and midwife graduate program and for the first time has established a statewide enrolled nurse graduate program. This will employ 400 enrolled nurses over the next four years, with 100 of these positions available to TAFE graduates.

The diploma of nursing is one of the most popular priority TAFE courses being offered as part of our government’s free TAFE initiative. It means more Victorians will be able to study a diploma of nursing for free at TAFE and then start working as enrolled nurses as soon as they graduate. The fund is also providing up to 400 postgraduate scholarships for current nurses and midwives to upgrade their skills and 400 places in programs such as the postgraduate midwifery employment program. It will also provide refresher programs for 800 nurses and midwives currently registered but not practising so they can re-enter the workforce.

I would just like to, in closing, thank all of those involved in this bill, particularly the Minister for Health and all the staff that have been involved. I would also like to note the great work that the Minister for Health has done all throughout the COVID crisis.