Effectiveness of nurse bonus questioned

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The Federal Government’s plan to attract nurses back into the workforce doesn’t appear to be doing the job, opponents of the scheme say.

Nearly two years after the nurse bonus was first introduced by the Rudd Government, questions are being raised about whether the Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce scheme is having the desired effect.

Opposition Health spokesman Peter Dutton says the plan to attract nurses back into the workforce has reached less than 7% of its long term target.Dutton released figures in August, 2009, which revealed that 541 nurses had taken up the offer of a $6,000 cash bonus since the scheme was launched 18 months ago. “Mr Rudd’s more interested in publicity that he is in solving health issues,” Dutton told ABC News in August.“The Prime Minister’s going around the country at the moment on a six month publicity tour and all the while these programs are falling behind.”

Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called on the Government to look at why nurses aren’t coming back into the workforce. The AMA has also has called on the Government to extend its cash incentive scheme, labelling the current program too restrictive. Dr Andrew Pesce, president, AMA, says the initiative only targets public hospitals, private hospitals and aged care facilities. “The Bringing Nurses Back into the Workforce program ignores the important contribution that nurses can make in other parts of the health sector, such as general practice. The program’s guidelines should be relaxed so that nurses who want to return to the workforce to take up a position in general practice will be eligible for funding,” Pesce says.The AMA says around 60% of general practices employ practice nurses who work with doctors. It believes general practices should be better supported to employ practice nurses by making practice nurse grants available to all general practices across the country, and by ensuring the Medical Benefits Scheme recognises the full scope of patient care that GP practice nurses can provide.

And the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) says while the Federal Government has taken steps to encourage nurses back into the workforce, more needs to be done to attract and retain nurses; particularly in the aged care sector.

Ged Kearney, Federal secretary, ANF, warns that the nursing workforce continues to age, with the proportion of nurses aged 50 years and over increasing from 28% in 2003 to 33% in 2007. “A great way to encourage nurses and midwives who have left the profession back would be to address issues like wage parity in the aged care sector and improve working conditions in all areas of the profession, including incentives to improve clinical career pathways,” Kearney says.But Federal Health Minister Nichola Roxon remains committed to the project, saying the Government is pleased the scheme has resulted in several hundred extra nurses returning to the workforce.

The Bringing Nurses Back to into the Workforce scheme was launched at the start of 2008, when the Rudd Government took steps toward fulfilling its commitment to bring 7,750 extra nurses into Australia’s hospitals within five years.

The ambitious recruitment plan involved providing financial incentives to nurses who are out of the workforce in a bid to encourage them to return to nursing. The incentives are part of an $87 million plan to boost the number of nurses in the country’s health and aged care system by more than 10,000 over the next five years.Nurses who have been out of the workforce for more than a year are being offered cash bonuses of $6,000 to return to work in one of the country’s hospitals. The nurses are paid $3,000 after six months back on the hospital ward and a further $3,000 after 18 months. Hospitals are also being rewarded with a $1,000 per re-entry to assist with the costs of re-training and re-skilling nurses.

While the government prefers nurses return to the workforce on a full time basis, those returning on a part time basis are eligible for the bonus on a pro rata basis.Federal government figures show there are approximately 30,000 qualified nurses in Australia who aren’t working in the profession. At the start of last year, there were 19,000 hospital vacancies across Australia.