Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you, and more importantly, listen to your concerns and suggestions for our health care system.
Let there be no doubt; the community expects the best in healthcare, and for our healthcare professionals. The community expects access to healthcare, no matter where you live, or wealth, and the community expects staff to be operating in a safe environment and empowered to help patients
Nurses and Midwives are the hearts and hands of this community expectation, and as the backbone of our workforce, it is up to Government to support you.
It is why by 2017, we will have over 50,000 nurses and midwives working in the NSW Health system. And it is why it is incumbent on the government to
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There are of course challenges; a growing population, people living longer, a vast array of new treatments, patients making lifestyle choices now, which affect their health so poorly in the future.
Yes, there are cases of demand overcoming capacity inside our health system, and some waits are unacceptably long. But the vast majority of the 17,000 patients who will spend tonight in our hospitals, or the 1,000 patients who have their surgery today, get excellent care – and we are proud of this.
Letting nurses and midwives get on with the job, instead of being weighed down with red tape is feedback I have been getting across the system for years. Last time I spoke at this conference, I announced funding for further Clinical Support Officers to help with just that.
We funded a total of 90 CSOs in the Government’s first term. Last year, as promised, we recruited 30 more CSOs. I am happy to say, we are funding another 30 roles. I will announce the location of these roles in the coming months.
No doubt we are all aware of the recent security issues. Hospitals are a place of healing, and violence should never be