Wednesday, 31 August 2022

Ministers statements: healthcare workforce

Ms THOMAS (Macedon—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (14:14): Today I rise to update the house on the Andrews Labor government’s record of investing and growing jobs and skills in Victoria’s healthcare sector, a record strengthened by our landmark $270 million nursing and midwifery package, which will recruit and train an extra 17 000 nurses and midwives across our state. Whether it be our nurses, our ambos, our doctors, our allied health professionals or the cooks, the cleaners or the clerks, these workers have all put in a mammoth effort throughout the COVID pandemic. We will continue to back in these workers, just as we have every day that we have been in government.

When it comes to the empty promises of those opposite, Victorian health workers have a long memory. Indeed this is what the secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Lisa Fitzpatrick, said recently:

Nurses and midwives have difficulty trusting the Victorian Opposition because they promised to keep mandated, minimum nurse patient ratios in the lead up to the 2010 state election. Within six months they broke that promise …

In contrast, our record investments in the health system have seen significant growth in all areas of our health workforce. Of course it was our government that legislated nurse- and midwife-to-patient ratios. We have invested and recruited more than 9400 nursing and midwifery staff, more than 4000 doctors and indeed an additional 2200 paramedics. We have been doubling their annual investment in order to deliver the care that Victorians deserve. When it comes to standing with our healthcare workforce, those healthcare workers know that only Labor can be trusted to deliver and grow our healthcare workforce, unlike those who will cut, slash and go to war with healthcare— (Time expired)