Today’s Budget delivers on our promise to rebuild essential services with new investments in our nursing and midwifery workforce.
We are committed to rebuilding the frontline and today we confirmed a $5.4 million investment over the next four years for additional Transition to Practice Placements for nursing graduates.
By 2017-18 there will be up to 85 additional graduate nurses on top of normal recruitment levels over the next four years.
Nurses play a vital role in our healthcare system and their role becomes even more important as we embark on our reform plan, One State, One Health System, Better Outcomes.
Our graduate nurses are world-class and a critical aspect to retaining them is to provide a Transition to Practice placement in their home State.
Tasmania risks losing a whole generation of nurses after their academic training if they continue to leave the state due to a lack of local opportunities. That’s why this announcement is so important.
By retaining as many new nursing graduates as we can, we give our health workforce its best chance for stability, thereby supporting the goal of ensuring Tasmanian patients get the healthcare they need and deserve.
This was a key election commitment during the election campaign and today we deliver on that promise to Tasmanians.
We are now laying the foundations for the long-term future of our healthcare system – one that puts the needs of patients back where they belong, at the forefront of every decision.
