Nurses wary of returning to workforce

A $40 million program aimed at enticing almost 9,000 nurses back into the workforce
by mid-2012 is way behind target.
Just 310 had been recruited by the end of 2008 - well below the 1,000 the federal
health department had hoped would return to the profession in the program's first
year.
When Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched the program in January 2008, he said it
would be a "solid start" in dealing with a predicted shortfall of 19,000 nurses by
2010.
Its overall aim was to draw 8,750 of the estimated 30,000 qualified nurses currently
outside the workforce back into hospitals and aged-care facilities.
The $39.4 million Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program offers a $6,000
bonus for qualified nurses returning to the workforce.
They receive $3,000 after six months back in the nursing, and a further $3,000 after
18 months.
Of the 310 nurses who have pocketed bonuses, 266 returned to work in public
hospitals and 44 went to private hospitals.
The department responded to 825 inquiries about the program since its inception to
the end of January this year.
A national advertising campaign for the program is under development.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon acknowledged the program had had a slow start.
But she said the government was acting to fix that.
"We have expanded the program to make it more flexible, extending eligibility," Ms
Roxon said.
"The program now encompasses nursing in community health settings, including
palliative care, mental health, school-based health services, maternal and child
health, and home visiting services.
"If it becomes clear that the program needs to evolve or change in order to work
better, we will look for ways to improve it, as is the case with this expansion."
Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton said the figures showed the program had
bombed.
"Mr Rudd told Australians that he had a plan for health - these numbers show it's a
shambles," he said.
"Clearly the government will never meet its claim to bring 8,000 nurses back into
the workforce over five years."
Australian Nursing Federation assistant federal secretary Lee Thomas urged the
department to survey the nurses who had received the bonuses to ascertain whether it
was the cash that prompted their return, or simply a coincidence.
"(It's) a very slow start," Ms Thomas said.
"One of the interesting questions is how many nurses would have come back without
the program and that's of course the information we don't have."
She said systemic issues, including a lack of parking and childcare, were some of
the reasons nurses left the profession and didn't return.
"If there remains these underlying systemic issues then of course it will be very
hard to attract (nurses) back in," Ms Thomas said.
She said she hoped the cash incentives remained in place after the May budget.