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Speaker 1: But look, another issue that we've been speaking about quite

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Speaker 1: a bit is the national nursing shortage. We know that

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Speaker 1: it is taking its toll here in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: as well, and reportedly has taken its toll on Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory students with some not graduating when they should have.

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Speaker 1: And Charles Darwen University has told the ABC that it's

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Speaker 1: due to a backlog of clinical placements amid COVID restrictions.

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Speaker 1: So joining me on the line to tell us a

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Speaker 1: little bit more about how things are going at the

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Speaker 1: moment is the Branch Secretary of the Northern Territory Australian

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Speaker 1: Nursing and Midwiffery Federation, Cath Hatchet.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Cath.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie and listeners.

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Speaker 2: Kath, great have you on the show.

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Speaker 1: Just firstly, how severe is the shortage of nurses in

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory at the moment.

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Speaker 3: If you look around the whole of the NT, you're

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Speaker 3: probably looking at around three hundred to three hundred full

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Speaker 3: time equivalents and that's not just the urban areas, that's

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Speaker 3: rule and remote as well.

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Speaker 1: Wow, So we're that level short between three hundred and

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Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty.

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Speaker 3: And that's just a guestimate because I haven't had the

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Speaker 3: estimates given to me for probably six or eight weeks. Now.

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Speaker 2: Goodness, Meg, that's a massive number.

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Speaker 1: Cat And is that quite the concern as we lead

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Speaker 1: into that Christmas period and quite often that's a time

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Speaker 1: where people do make decisions to move to other states.

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Speaker 3: Yes, it's definitely a worry because from about September October

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Speaker 3: onwards you get a drop in numbers around the territory,

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Speaker 3: those going back to better weather in the Southern States,

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Speaker 3: and until about April May we seem to get it

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Speaker 3: picking up again. So yes, it is concerning when those

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Speaker 3: numbers are at that level and that we're going to

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Speaker 3: drop again or have been dropping already, and probably a

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Speaker 3: little bit more until Christmas.

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Speaker 1: What impact is it then having on the staff that remained.

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Speaker 3: They're already doing overtime and double ships, but they'll probably

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Speaker 3: pick up a little bit more. They will have to

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Speaker 3: furlough or give some some holidays around that time, but

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Speaker 3: that would be very limited, one would think, and they

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Speaker 3: would have some services decrease over that time. So even

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Speaker 3: though we know elective surgery has already been very limited,

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Speaker 3: it probably over the Christmas January break, it might be

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Speaker 3: down to zero elective surgery.

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Speaker 1: Wow, so we may find that we've got no elective

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Speaker 1: surgery happening over that Christmas break.

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Speaker 3: I would say, so, yes, that's what usually happens.

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Speaker 1: What kind of impact does that have then as we

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Speaker 1: come back next year and trying to get through all

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Speaker 1: those different patients that hadn't been.

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Speaker 3: Seen, Well, yes, that is a really a poor outcome

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Speaker 3: for those that have been on waiting lists for many

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Speaker 3: months and even years, that they're going to be held

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Speaker 3: up even more and as they have been over the

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Speaker 3: last couple of years with COVID and CAS.

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Speaker 2: We know that, you know that it's tough.

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Speaker 1: I guess when you talk about the recruitment of nurses,

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Speaker 1: how are things going on that front as we do

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Speaker 1: sort of prepare to get ready?

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Speaker 2: I guess for twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 3: The continuously Department of Health are continuously recruiting to all areas,

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Speaker 3: but also doing lots of orientation for new staff as

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Speaker 3: well as new graduates that have come out of the

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Speaker 3: universities and have now registered as an enrolled nurse or

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Speaker 3: registered nurse or registered midwife. They are doing those orientations

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Speaker 3: regularly and they're trying to build up not just the

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Speaker 3: ward areas where it's easier to put the new graduates,

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Speaker 3: but they're trying to do some programs, to do some

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Speaker 3: courses and some education of putting them into the emergency departments,

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Speaker 3: theater renal services where they're low in their numbers, and

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Speaker 3: the meeting more staff than they have before.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, And was there a backlog or from your perspectives,

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Speaker 1: has there been a backlog when it comes to those

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Speaker 1: UNI students not sort of being able to graduate on

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Speaker 1: time because they weren't able to do their clinical placements.

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Speaker 3: Well, we only had one issue probably about twelve to

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Speaker 3: eighteen months ago where we stopped students doing their placements

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Speaker 3: and that was only about three to five days in

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Speaker 3: the Department of Health. Whereas those UNI students that have

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Speaker 3: been enrolled from other states into Charles Dalwen Universities, they're

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Speaker 3: the ones that about to forty percent of those students

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Speaker 3: have been affected and haven't completed their placements. And because

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Speaker 3: they do live in the state and they've been affected

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Speaker 3: by the COVID on a bigger scale compared to the

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Speaker 3: Northern territory that's affected the enrollments that's going to take

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Speaker 3: place for next year, so thirty to forty students that

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Speaker 3: haven't completed yet their placements for this year. The Australian

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Speaker 3: Nursing and Midwi Free Accreditation Council or ann MAX, for sure,

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Speaker 3: they are a guidance for the universities and how many

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Speaker 3: numbers they should for the next year. So it's reduced

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Speaker 3: their numbers for the Bachelor of Nursing quite significantly from

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Speaker 3: about four hundred ish down to one hundred for next year.

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Speaker 3: And I have heard by the Chief Nurse a MIGWRA

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Speaker 3: Free office that those one hundred that have been employed

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Speaker 3: into the modules for Bachelor of Nursing for next year

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Speaker 3: all living within the Northern Territory or have come from

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Speaker 3: overseas but are living in the Northern Territory that are

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Speaker 3: enrolled in the program for next year.

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Speaker 2: So do you reckon that's going to see a bit

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Speaker 2: of a boost for us CAT.

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Speaker 3: I don't know one hundred that's going to be a

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Speaker 3: boost In three years time when they finish their Bachelor

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Speaker 3: of Nursing, I think the numbers need to be back

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Speaker 3: up to about four hundred intake, perhaps not around the territory,

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Speaker 3: but at least a couple one hundred around the territory, Kath.

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Speaker 1: What impact then is the current wage freeze having when

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Speaker 1: you talk about our nurses.

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Speaker 3: The current wage trees, well, as we know, it's off

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Speaker 3: the table now for about almost two months. And she's

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Speaker 3: she being the Tasha Folds of government has given us

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Speaker 3: two percent compounding wage increase over the enterprise agreement. And

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Speaker 3: that's not just affecting ours, it's affecting ten public sector

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Speaker 3: agreements and that is going to affect if the Files

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Speaker 3: government stick to the two percent, They're highly likely the

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Speaker 3: public sector workers are not perhaps going to stay where

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Speaker 3: they might for a couple of years and then go

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Speaker 3: into state the The two percent is going to affect

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Speaker 3: the nurses greatly. We're going to we always have, sorry,

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Speaker 3: We've always tried to in the territory for the last

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Speaker 3: twenty plus years, our union has tried to keep the

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Speaker 3: nurses and midwives in the top two particularly and hopefully

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Speaker 3: in the top three. But now with Queensland having a

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Speaker 3: four percent four percent, the three percent South Australia going

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Speaker 3: for something similar, Queensland is going for six percent at

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Speaker 3: this stage. If they all get up and we stay

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Speaker 3: at the two percent, we are going to drop back

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Speaker 3: to perhaps fourth within the Australia, and then the allowances

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Speaker 3: on top of that as are going to still stay

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Speaker 3: at two percent, and it is going to have an

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Speaker 3: effect on some people not coming to the territory and

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Speaker 3: some nurses not not staying and going into state where

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Speaker 3: they know that they can get bonuses and they know

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Speaker 3: that they can get a better pay.

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Speaker 1: KAS What do you make then, I mean, obviously they've

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Speaker 1: come to the table for teachers there, you know, they

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Speaker 1: announced late last week that there's going to be that

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Speaker 1: pay increase or they put a new offer on the

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Speaker 1: table for teachers. It adds up to nine percent nine

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Speaker 1: percent pay rise by October twenty twenty three. In those

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Speaker 1: three percent increments backdated, I mean, de nurses want to

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Speaker 1: see something like that.

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Speaker 3: We we're asking for six percent. Some of our members

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Speaker 3: are wanting more like ten percent, but majority of our

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Speaker 3: members are wanting a six percent overall. Yeah, I think

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Speaker 3: if they can get up better than two percent and

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Speaker 3: get somewhere near the six percent and it goes to vote,

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Speaker 3: I would say that, Well, I can't speak on behalf

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Speaker 3: of the member, but I think it's probably got a

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Speaker 3: a better chance of getting a yes vote if they

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Speaker 3: offer us and continue to offer the two percent. I

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Speaker 3: can tell you now, no vote is going to be

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Speaker 3: one hundred percent.

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Speaker 2: Yeah right, suh.

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Speaker 1: Well, it sounds as are there's some work that needs

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Speaker 1: to happen there kas, any idea you know when a

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Speaker 1: new offer is going to be put on the table

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Speaker 1: for nurses.

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Speaker 3: While we're still doing our bargaining currently, Katie, and we

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Speaker 3: probably won't get a vote or another or go to

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Speaker 3: vote from another offer at the table and probably until

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Speaker 3: the end of February, which is very disheartening and very

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Speaker 3: long time away. But with closure of Christmas and people

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Speaker 3: going on holidays and the fact that we're still going

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Speaker 3: through our log of claims and the Department of Health

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Speaker 3: slogger claims, we may not get to the end of

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Speaker 3: it until February. End of February.

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Speaker 2: Wow.

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Speaker 1: Well, kat please keep us up to date, keep in

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Speaker 1: contact with us, and let us know how things progress.

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Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate your time this morning. We've appreciated

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Speaker 1: it all the time you've given us throughout the year.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having a chat with us

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Speaker 1: this morning.

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Speaker 3: No, you're very welcome, Katie, And if I don't speak

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Speaker 3: to you, to have a Merry

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Speaker 2: Christmas you too, Thank you so much, Katy,